OBX
by afitwilight
Summary: While Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey are on vacation at the Outer Banks, the rest of the team are having to track down a murderer along the coast. Takes place after Dark Vengeance. N/S, G/C romance


Catherine loved vacations. She HATED packing. She frantically paced around her bedroom double-checking herself to make sure she had everything. Four burgundy suitcases sat at the doorway of her room. Each one was filled with clothes and personal items. "Lindsey!" She yelled.  
  
"What?" Her nine-year-old daughter called out. Lindsey was in her own room making sure that she had her stuffed animals ready to go. Some of her friends at school thought she was getting to old to carry them around, but Lindsey loved her animals. Most of them were given to her by her mother's friends at work. She heard footsteps and glanced at her door. Catherine was standing in the doorway.  
  
"Have you got everything?" She asked.  
  
"I can't find Chester." Chester was the teddy bear Greg had bought her for winning a basketball game. Since Greg paid for it, she thought she should name it after something Greg liked. So she named the bear Chester after Chester from Linkin Park.  
  
"He's on the living room sofa." Catherine informed her. "Are you sure you have everything?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure."  
  
"Good, because Gil is going to be here any minute." Lindsey grabbed her backpack off her bed and then walked out of the room toward the living room. She saw Chester sitting on the couch and sat down beside him.   
  
Catherine carried her suitcases from the bedroom to the front door. She was confident that she now had everything and took a seat beside her daughter. She leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. She had been waiting for this vacation since Gil mentioned it to her in North Carolina. She wasn't sure where he was taking her though. He made it a point to keep her in the dark about where they were going. All she knew was that they were going to be flying and that she was going to be gone a little over a week. A knock at the door brought her back from her thoughts.   
  
Lindsey jumped off the couch and ran to the door and opened it. "Mr. Grissom!" She yelled and put her arms around him. Grissom leaned down and gave her a hug.   
  
"Hey Linds, are you ready to go?"  
  
"You bet!" She held his hand and led him inside toward Catherine.  
  
Catherine got up from the couch and smiled. "Hey Gil." She said. He came over and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. Lindsey, forgotten for the moment, was stuck between them. "Get a room." She said causing the two adults to pull apart.  
  
Grissom laughed and gave her a grin. "Are we set?" He asked.  
  
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Catherine replied.  
  
"I will at the airport." He answered and began taking her luggage out to his car. After getting the entire luggage in his Tahoe, they were on their way to the airport.  
  
Lindsey was in the back seat holding her bear. "Mommy, are the others going to be there to say bye?"  
  
Catherine turned around to face her. "Yes sweetie."  
  
"Good."   
  
Thirty minutes later, Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey had their tickets and were waiting for the others to get there. Warrick, Greg, Sara, and Nick finally came in. They walked over to the others. "So, you're vacation is finally here." Warrick commented.  
  
"Thank God." Catherine sighed.   
  
This caused the others to grin. "I hope you guys have a good time."   
  
"Me too. I still don't know where we're going."   
  
Sara laughed. "Can't stand it, can you?"  
  
Catherine glanced at her. "It's killing me."  
  
"Don't worry, you'll know soon." This came from Warrick.   
  
An announcement came over the intercom. "Attention passengers flight 182 to Houston is now boarding."  
  
Grissom smiled. "That's us." He focused on Warrick. "You're in charge while I'm gone."  
  
"I'll take care of them." Warrick said nodding to the other three. Grissom laughed and shook his hand. They each took turns hugging and giving their best wishes. Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey gave them a final wave and headed for their plane.  
  
Greg called out to them. "Don't forget to buy me something!"  
  
Lindsey turned around and gave him a thumbs up. Greg smiled and then looked at the others. They were grinning. "What?"  
  
"Nothing. Let's go home, we're going to have a long shift ahead of us." Warrick replied and the four friends walked out of the airport.  
  
The plane arrived in Houston and Grissom and the others made their way to their next plane. Catherine still didn't know where they were going. Once they reached the waiting area, she looked to see that the next plane was taking them to Charlotte, North Carolina. She turned to Grissom. "I don't get it, where are we going?"  
  
"The Outer Banks. You told me that you wanted to go to the beach and we've all been to the Pacific Ocean, I thought why not go to the Atlantic. Besides, you and Lindsey loved North Carolina while we were there."  
  
She couldn't keep the grin off her face. "I've heard about the Outer Banks. It's supposed to be lovely."  
  
"It is. I did a lot of research on them. I got us a condo right in front of the beach."  
  
Lindsey was thrilled. "Awesome! Can we go to Carowinds too?" Every since she had heard about that theme park in N.C. she had been dying to go.  
  
Grissom got down to her level. "I was going to wait and surprise you, but I guess I will go ahead and tell you. We are going there the day before we go home."  
  
She had a 100-watt smile. She reached over and gave him a hug. "I love you! You're the best!"  
  
Grissom's heart suddenly felt warmth go through it. He always cared about Lindsey, just like he would his own daughter. "I love you too Lindsey." He leaned down and kissed her on the head.   
  
Catherine took in the scene before her and smiled. She was thrilled that Grissom had a connection with her daughter. Grissom felt her staring at him and looked up. "So, how do you like your vacation so far?"  
  
"I love it." She replied and reached out her hand to help him up. The three were soon on the plane heading toward the Charlotte-Douglas airport.  
  
Back in Vegas, Nick and Sara were in their new home sitting at the kitchen table gathering stuff together for their wedding. They finally set a wedding date and now they were trying to get all the arrangements set. Nick had called his mother and she was more than thrilled that her youngest was finally tying the knot. Sara, on the other hand, refused to call her parents. Nick tried to convince her to, but she kept saying that they couldn't care less about her. That's why she had asked Grissom to give her away. He was more of a father to her, than her own. Nick finally gave up on that issue. The phone rang giving Nick a quick break from making out the invitation list. He got up and grabbed the cord less phone off the counter. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey Nick." Warrick's voice came on the other line.  
  
"Hey man, what's going on?" Sara turned to face Nick and he mouthed Warrick's name. Nodding, she went back to work.  
  
"Not too much. I was wondering if you and Sara wanted to have dinner with me and Jasmine before shift tonight?"  
  
"That's sounds like fun. Let me ask Sara." He pulled the phone down to his chest. Sara turned around as soon as she heard her name. "Ask me what?"  
  
"Warrick wants to know if we want to have dinner with him and Jasmine."  
  
She smiled. "Sure."  
  
Nick smiled back and put the phone back to his ear. "We'd love to. Just tell us when and where."  
  
"Great. Meet us at the Olive Garden at seven. I'll call and make reservations." Warrick answered him.  
  
"We'll be there. See you then."  
  
"Bye."   
  
Nick hung up the phone and sat down beside his fiancée. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "How about we take a break?"  
  
She glanced over at him. "And do what?" She asked. Nick leaned over and kissed her giving her his answer. Sara deepened the kiss and brought her hand to his cheek. After a few moments of passion, they both pulled away breathless. Nick stood up and held his hand out to her. "If we're having dinner with Warrick, we should probably get some rest."  
  
She took his hand and he pulled her up. He put his arm around her waist and led her to their bedroom. Sara walked to the bed and sat down on the edge. Nick took his place next to her and kissed her cheek. She grinned. "I thought you wanted to get some rest." She replied knowing if he kept that up, neither one would get any rest soon. Nick worked his way down and kissed her collarbone.   
  
She pulled his face to hers and kissed him any notion of them being tired was now long forgotten.  
  
Lindsey held Chester close to her as she walked outside the airport. She was now in N.C. and she couldn't have been happier. Her mom and Grissom were right behind her. Grissom had called about renting a car and soon they were on their way to get one. Lindsey was hoping that he would get them a convertible. She wanted to feel the wind through her hair. They were now in the rental car parking lot. Lindsey watched as Grissom and her mother inspected every car. She pretended that she was rich and that she was allowed to take any car she wanted. She looked around and soon found a silver BMW convertible. "Mr. Grissom, what about this car?" She asked crossing her fingers that he would take it.  
  
Catherine came over and looked the car over. "Wow, I would have never thought that they would have this car for a rental."  
  
"Can we get it?"   
  
Grissom looked at the car and noticed that it really didn't have enough space for all their luggage. "Sorry Lindsey. We need a bigger car than this."  
  
She frowned and gave the car one last look. "When I grow up, I'm going to have one of these." She stated and then followed her mother to another car. Soon, Grissom picked out the car he wanted. It wasn't going to be as fun as a convertible would have been, but it was safer. When Lindsey saw the car she frowned. "We have a Tahoe at home."  
  
"And we're going to have one here." Catherine told her clearly ending any discussion that her daughter would have made.   
  
"Fine." Lindsey stormed off and stood next to Grissom. He had just paid for the car and was handed the keys. He looked at Lindsey. "Ready to hit the beach?"  
  
"I've been ready." They packed their suitcases in the back and began making the drive toward the coast. Lindsey was getting hungry. She glanced at the clock and realized that it said five o'clock. The east was three hours ahead of Vegas time. So it would have been two there. They arrived at the condo three hours later. Catherine got out of the car and was immediately greeted by the smell of ocean air. She couldn't see the ocean from where she was, but she knew that they would be able to see it from inside the condo.   
  
She unlocked the door and stepped in. To her left was a huge kitchen with a bar and a table. On her right was the living room. The living room had two sofas and a coffee table in the center. She made her way to the hall in between the kitchen and living room. She walked down the short hallway and noticed the bathroom was on the left. The hallway split into two directions, both leading toward the bedrooms. The condo had three bedrooms each room was large enough for two people. Catherine picked the bedroom on the left. She dropped her luggage on the floor and walked back toward the living room. Lindsey ran past her and chose the room on the right. She ran right to the bed and began jumping up and down on it.   
  
"Stop jumping on the bed." Catherine called out to her.  
  
'How does she do that?' Lindsey thought to herself and sat down on the bed. She grabbed her backpack and began taking her animals out and placing them on the bed. Soon she had the room just the way she wanted it. She then went back in the kitchen and grabbed a can of Pringles from their food bag. She opened them and popped one in her mouth. She noticed that her mom and Grissom weren't in the living room. She opened the door and walked around the side of the condo and found them staring at the beach. She smiled and stood beside her mom. "Can we go swimming?"  
  
"Sure, go get your bathing suit on."  
  
Lindsey didn't have to be told twice. She quickly ran back inside and toward her new room. She pulled her suitcase out and found her swimsuit. She probably broke the record of the fastest clothing change. Her mom had bought her a new swimsuit just for the trip and Greg had bought her a boogie board for the ocean. She was all set and walked back outside. Grissom and Catherine had gone back in to change their clothes as well, but they took their time. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Lindsey, they came out. Catherine had a beach bag in her hand filled with towels, suntan lotion, and reading material for her and Grissom. They walked toward the beach and found a spot to put their stuff at. Catherine was debating whether Lindsey needed the suntan lotion or not, but before she made her final decision Lindsey was already in the water. Catherine laughed and spread out a blanket for her and Grissom to sit down.   
  
"So, are you having fun so far?" Grissom asked her.  
  
"I'm having a blast." She answered and took his hand in hers. "Thanks for doing this."  
  
"I wanted to. Besides Lindsey needed a vacation as well."  
  
Catherine watched as her little girl battled the waves with her new board. "I can't believe Greg bought her that."  
  
"He loves her to death."  
  
"I know. I guess we'll have to get him something while we're here."  
  
He nodded and leaned back soaking in the sun's rays. He closed his eyes and soon heard Lindsey shout out. "KASEY!!!"   
  
He and Catherine both looked up and sure enough there was Lindsey running right toward Kasey. They had met Kasey and her cousins the last time they were in N.C. Catherine laughed as Lindsey jumped in Kasey's arms. She looked at Grissom. "Guess we should go say hi."   
  
Grissom stood up and reached for her hand. They walked down toward the waves and could hear Lindsey talking. "We just got here today."  
  
"That's cool." Kasey said. She turned her focus on Grissom and Catherine. "It's nice seeing you again."  
  
"It's good seeing you too." Catherine told her and then looked around. "So where is the rest of your crew?"  
  
"Oh, well Drake is getting some soda." She pointed toward the waves. "Travis is attempting to surf and Melissa went to the restroom."  
  
"How long have you been here?" Grissom asked.  
  
"We got here two days ago." She answered and soon Travis came crashing to the shore. He recognized them instantly.   
  
"Sweet. I didn't think we'd see you guys again."  
  
Lindsey gave him a hug. "I've been trying to e-mail you, but you never e-mailed me back."  
  
Travis laughed. "Sorry about that. Our computer is broken."  
  
"That's okay."  
  
Drake and Melissa came over at the same time and soon they were all caught up. "Hey Lindsey, you wanna go surfing?" Travis asked.  
  
"Yeah!" She looked at the mother. "Can I?"  
  
Catherine nodded. "Go, have a good time." Lindsey laughed and soon all five were making their way in the ocean. Catherine and Grissom both grinned and decided to go play in the ocean as well.  
  
Later that evening in Vegas, Warrick and Jasmine were standing outside the door of the Olive Garden holding hands and waiting for their friends to arrive. Warrick glanced down at this watch. "I did tell them seven right?" Warrick asked. It was now ten past seven.  
  
"Yes honey." She told them. "I'm going to go in and get our table." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.   
  
"Okay. I'll be in there as soon as they get here." Warrick informed her and then thought to himself that Nick better have a really good excuse. He watched as the cars came in and out of the parking lot and finally smiled when he spotted Nick's familiar Tahoe. "Bout time." He said.  
  
Nick and Sara found a parking spot and got out. They quickly walked toward Warrick. Before Warrick could ask, Nick held out his hand. "There was a wreck along the highway. We would have been here twenty minutes ago."  
  
"It's okay."   
  
Sara looked around. "Where's Jasmine?"  
  
"Saving our table. Come on." They followed Warrick inside and soon found their table. Jasmine smiled at them as they took their seats. They were seated in a booth near the back. Warrick and Jasmine were seated across Nick and Sara. Nick apologized to Jasmine about their tardiness. She took a sip of water and grinned. "I'm just glad the two of you are okay."  
  
"We're fine." Nick replied and shot a look toward Warrick. "Although, I get the feeling that if we had been any later, we might have become victims of a crime scene."  
  
Warrick laughed. "Damn right."  
  
Their waitress came by and took their order. After she left, the four friends began discussing different things.   
  
"So Warrick was telling me that Grissom and Catherine went to the Outer Banks." Jasmine said and took another sip of her water.  
  
"Yeah, she had no clue where they were going." Nick said and grinned.   
  
"It was killing her too." Sara added. "In fact, if she had to wait much longer, I think she would have tortured us for the information."  
  
Jasmine laughed. "That sounds like something Catherine would do."  
  
"No kidding." Warrick replied. He then turned to focus on Nick and Sara. "So, how are the wedding plans?"  
  
Sara leaned her head back against the seat and Nick's shoulders slumped a bit. "It's going, slowly, but it's going." Nick told him.  
  
"Well, I for one can't wait." Warrick told him.  
  
"Thanks for the support." Nick replied. "In fact if you want to be more supportive you could write our invitations for us and then order the food and then."  
  
Warrick threw his hands up. "Whoa there! Don't get me wrong, you're my friend and all, but you can do that yourself."  
  
Sara laughed and gave Warrick a wink. "It's okay Warrick, Nick actually loves making all the arrangements. He just doesn't want to admit it."  
  
Nick turned to her. "Haha Sara, very funny."  
  
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. The waitress came out and set their food down in front of them. The four began to eat their meal and Warrick's cell phone rang. He pulled it out and placed it to his ear. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey Warrick." Grissom's voice said on the other end.  
  
"Hey Griss, how's the beach?"  
  
"Wonderful. Thanks again for taking over the shift for me."  
  
"No problem. So I take it Catherine approved." Warrick could hear Lindsey in the background talking to her mom.  
  
"Yeah, she loves it."  
  
Nick and Sara were telling Warrick to say hi for them. "Griss, Nick and Sara say hi."  
  
"Tell them hello." Warrick relayed the message. "I just wanted to call and wish you good luck tonight. I know it's seven thirty there, but it's ten thirty here."  
  
"Yeah, I remember the time change. Well, have a blast Grissom. We'll see you soon."  
  
"Bye Warrick."  
  
Warrick told him bye and hung up the phone. He placed the phone back on the table and started eating his food.   
  
Thirty minutes later, the four were walking outside. Warrick and Jasmine had their arms around each other. He looked over at Nick and Sara. "I'll see you guys in a bit."  
  
"Yeah. See you later Jasmine." Nick said.  
  
"Bye Nick, bye Sara. I had fun." Jasmine replied.  
  
"So did we. Be careful driving home." Sara told them and then she and Nick made their way to his Tahoe. They got in and began the drive to work.  
  
The next morning, Grissom woke up to the smell of ocean air. He opened his eyes to find that Catherine had opened the window in their room. The summer breeze blew gently against the curtains by the window. Grissom got out of the bed and walked over to the window. Outside he could see the early morning joggers running along the beach. He watched as sea gulls gathered around the beach. He gazed a few moments longer, and then left the room going toward the living room. He could hear the television as soon as he stepped in the hallway. As soon as he was in the living room, he was greeted by Lindsey, who was sitting on the couch. "Morning Mr. Grissom." She said.  
  
He gave her a warm smile. "Good morning Lindsey. Did you sleep well?"  
  
"Yep." She got off the couch and walked into the kitchen. Grissom was a few steps behind her. They both took a seat on the bar stools next to the counter. "Did you?"  
  
"I slept great." He told her. Not seeing Catherine around he turned back to her. "Where's your mother?"  
  
"She went to the grocery store."  
  
"Okay." Grissom looked over at the microwave to see what time it was. The digital clock read 7:30. "You're up early."  
  
"Mommy said we can call Uncle Warrick this morning and I wanted to talk to him."  
  
Grissom knew that his team was still at work. "We'll call as soon as she gets back."  
  
"She should be back any time. She left thirty minutes ago." Lindsey jumped off the stool and walked to the fridge. "You want something to drink?"  
  
Grissom really wanted a nice cup of coffee, but he knew they didn't have any, so he decided that one soda wouldn't kill him. "Sure."  
  
Lindsey grabbed two sixteen-ounce bottles of Sierra Mist and shut the door. She handed one to him and then took the other one with her back to the living room. "Come and watch cartoons with me."  
  
He couldn't help the grin that came across his face. He walked in the living room and sat next to her on the couch. They were in the middle of watching Dexter's Laboratory when Catherine came in the front door. She had her arms full with plastic bags. "I could use some help here." She called realizing the two weren't moving from the couch.  
  
Grissom looked up and smiled. "Sorry, I was watching Dexter."  
  
Catherine glanced at the screen. "I can see that."  
  
He came over and took the bags out of her hand and then placed them on the counter. He began to take the items out and place them in their proper locations. Lindsey ran in the kitchen and began opening a box of pop-tarts. She turned to Grissom. "Can we call Uncle Warrick now?"  
  
"I guess so." He said and grabbed the phone in the living room. He dialed Warrick's cell phone number just incase he was out in the field. "Brown."  
  
"Hey Warrick, how are things going?"  
  
"Good, we don't miss you at all." Warrick said. Grissom could hear Nick and Sara laughing in the background.   
  
"So, things are going well I take it."  
  
"Yeah, not too bad. Last night was pretty easy. How are Catherine and Lindsey?"  
  
"They're fine. In fact, Lindsey is dying to talk to you."  
  
"Put her on."   
  
Grissom handed her the phone and she quickly took it. "Hey Uncle Warrick."  
  
"Hey Linds. Are you having fun?"  
  
"I'm having a blast. Guess what? Kasey is here."  
  
"Really? That's cool."  
  
"Yeah, and Travis and I were surfing yesterday. Is Uncle Nick and Sara there?"  
  
"Yep, you want to talk to them?"  
  
"Yes." Lindsey heard Warrick tell Nick that she wanted to talk to him. Nick's voice soon filled her ear. "What's going on Linds?"  
  
"Nothing right now. I'm watching cartoons with Mr. Grissom. How's Sammy?" Sammy was the teddy bear she had made for him when he was in the hospital.  
  
"He's good. He's sitting on my bed."  
  
"Good, let me speak to Sara."  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Sara, guess what?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm going to an aquarium today."   
  
"Sounds like fun. Wish I was going."  
  
Lindsey was about to respond when Catherine took the phone from her. "HEY!"  
  
Catherine put the phone against her ear. "Sara, that you?"  
  
"Yeah, hey Catherine. Are you having fun?"  
  
"A blast." Lindsey was trying to grab the phone back but Catherine kept moving out of her way. Grissom stood back and grinned. He noticed that Catherine was beginning to get upset with her daughter so he stepped in. "Come on Lindsey. Let's go get ready for the aquarium."  
  
"Okay." She looked at her mother. "You're mean." She then turned around and went toward her room. Catherine just shook her head and finished her conversation with Sara. She hung the phone up and walked back toward Lindsey's room.   
  
"Lindsey." She said as she opened the girl's door and walked in. She noticed her daughter was on the bed holding Chester. "I'm sorry I took the phone away from you, but honey it's long distance from here."  
  
"I know. I just wanted to tell them how much fun I was having and that I missed them."  
  
"They miss you too and you can tell them all about it when we get back."   
  
Lindsey got off the bed and hugged her mom. She pulled away and smiled. "When we get back, Nick and Sara are having their wedding right?"  
  
"Yep, the Saturday after we get home."   
  
"Cool." Lindsey began getting some clothes out to wear. "I'm gonna take my shower."  
  
"Okay." Catherine walked out of her room and went back to the kitchen. Grissom was fixing them some breakfast.   
  
"Everything okay?"  
  
"Yeah." Grissom stared at her. "Oh not you too. Come on Gil, if I didn't take the phone from her when I did, she would have never hung up."  
  
"I didn't say a thing."  
  
She smiled. "You didn't have to. Your facial expression speaks loud and clear."  
  
"Well, you think she's bad now, wait til she's a teenager. Then see how hard it is to get her off the phone."  
  
Catherine cringed at the thought of that. She knew that Lindsey had to grow up, but right now, she loved the age her daughter was. Grissom turned off the eggs and placed them on two plates. "Breakfast is ready."  
  
"Thanks." She took the plate to the living room and sat down on the couch. Dexter was still on and she was about to turn when Grissom stopped her. "Wait, I like this episode."  
  
Catherine shook her head and smiled. He sat down beside her and they ate their breakfast engrossed with the cartoon before them.  
  
Back in Vegas, Warrick was gathering his stuff out of his locker to go home. His shift had been pretty easy and he wished those kind of nights happened more often. He knew that wasn't possible, after all he lived in Sin City. He shut the locker door and walked out of the room. He was on his way to find Nick and Sara when Brass approached him.  
  
"Good, I'm glad I found you." He said in a way of greeting.  
  
"I was on my way home. What's going on?"  
  
"It seems like we have a major problem."  
  
"What kind of problem?" Warrick asked with a feeling of dread in his stomach.  
  
Brass gave him a half smile. "Why don't you get the rest of your team together and meet me in my office."   
  
"Okay." Warrick went in search for his friends. He found Greg in the break room. Brass didn't ask for Greg, but Warrick felt that he should be included. "Hey Greg, Brass needs us in his office."  
  
Greg was drinking the new sprite remix soda. He glanced up at Warrick and got up from his chair. "I guess that means we're not going home."  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Well, alright then." Greg and Warrick were now walking side by side in search of the others. They found Sara down the hall. "Yo Sara!" Greg called out.  
  
She turned around. "Hey, I thought you guys would be gone by now."  
  
"Something came up. Brass needs us in his office." Warrick explained. "Do you know where Nick is?"  
  
"Last time I saw him, he was going to put some paperwork in Grissom's office." She answered.  
  
"Then let's go." The trio finally found Nick. Soon the four were standing in Brass's office waiting for him to reveal the problem.  
  
"What's going on?" Nick asked Brass.  
  
The older man was seated at his desk. He had papers and case files in front of him. He also had yellow envelopes scattered about making his desk look very unorganized and cluttered. "Are you familiar with the Sea side rapist?"  
  
"You mean the freak that's going around to different beaches raping women?" Warrick commented.  
  
"The one and only." Brass said. "The cops can't seem to find out who it is."  
  
"What does that have to do with us?" Greg wondered.  
  
Brass looked at him. "It seems our rapist is now a murderer. I just got a call from five different police departments in five different states. Five women were found raped and murdered along the coast."  
  
"Let me guess. The police wasn't able to come up with any evidence." Nick replied.  
  
"No fingerprints, no DNA, and no murder weapon."  
  
"How were they murdered?" Sara asked joining in the conversation.   
  
Brass focused on Sara and handed her one of the case reports with a photo of the victim. Sara took it and forced herself from gasping out loud at the sight of the woman. The victim looked as though she was used as a personal punching bag. Sara scanned the report and learned very quickly that the women were beaten to death. "And the police can't pull any DNA off the vics?" She knew that these women would have tried and fought back. At least that's what she was hoping they would have done.  
  
"Trust me Sara. If they had been able to, we wouldn't have been called."  
  
"So, why were we called?" Warrick asked.  
  
"Each one of our victims was killed along the western seaboard. We believe that he is on his way to the eastern side of the U.S., and since we are one of the best crime labs, we get the privilege of tracking him down."  
  
"Lucky us." Greg said with a hint of sarcasm.   
  
"Do we have any clue where to start? I mean look how huge the east coast is." Sara stated.  
  
"From his attacks, it's proven that he goes from south to north." Brass mentioned.  
  
"That tells us nothing. He could go from north to south this time. Hell, he could even start in the middle." This came from Warrick.   
  
"Then you've got a lot of traveling to do. Your plane leaves in two hours."  
  
"Wait, where are we going?" Nick asked.  
  
"Florida. We're assuming he's taking the same path."  
  
Warrick put his hands up. "Wait, I know for a fact Florida has a crime unit. I've been there. I think we should call Horatio Cane and inform him on what's going on. That way we can check the other states and not have to go there."  
  
"I agree with Warrick." Nick added.  
  
"Fine. I'll call Horatio and then change your plane ticket." He reached down to grab the phone when it began to ring. He picked it up. "Brass?" He paused and listened. "Thanks, I'll get them down there as soon as possible." He hung the phone up and glanced at the CSIs. "A woman was found raped and murdered at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. I'm booking you a flight there."  
  
"Wait, if it's our guy, he won't be there. He'll be off to another state looking for his newest victim." Sara reasoned.   
  
"Sara's right. Here's what I think we should do. I say we split up. Two of us will go to Georgia and the other two to North Carolina. He has to go one way or the other."   
  
Warrick said feeling that this was the best option they had.   
  
Brass shook his head. "I want someone to check out the body. We need evidence on this guy. Besides how do you think you're going to recognize him when you're there?"  
  
The team looked at each other. None of them had really thought about that. "Okay, here's the new plan. Go to South Carolina, together, and then try to find some evidence. If you fail, then split up."  
  
"I guess he'll have to mess up sometime." Nick commented.  
  
"All right, I'll let Calloway know that we need some of his people to cover for you while you're gone. I'll call you and let you know when your plane leaves."  
  
The four walked out of the room leaving Brass to make the arrangements. "I guess we'll go home, pack, and wait for Brass's call." Warrick said.  
  
"Yeah, you know I'm gonna need a vacation from all this trip taking." Nick commented.  
  
"Don't worry, you're getting married as soon as Grissom and Catherine come back, then you'll be on your honeymoon." Greg told him.  
  
"Thanks Greg."  
  
"Where are you guys going?" Warrick wondered.  
  
"We haven't decided." Sara told him. They were now in the parking lot. Sara and Nick were at Nick's Tahoe. "We'll see you at the airport." Nick replied.   
  
"See you there." Warrick said and waved bye. Three cars pulled out of the parking lot heading toward their different homes.   
  
Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey were walking along the boardwalk looking at the different shops. They had already gone to the aquarium and then they had lunch. Lindsey wanted to do some shopping, so they decided to shop along the boardwalk. So far, they didn't find anything that caught their eye. Lindsey glanced around and saw Kasey and Melissa come out of a store. "Hey guys!" Lindsey yelled.  
  
Kasey and Melissa strolled over to her. "Hey Linds." They replied.  
  
"Hey Catherine, Mr. Grissom." Melissa said greeting the other two.  
  
"So, what are you ladies doing?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Window shopping." Kasey answered and then added. "Which is about all we can do right now."  
  
"Why's that?" Catherine replied.  
  
"We're meeting Travis and Drake back at our condo and then we're all going hang gliding." Melissa answered.  
  
"Cool." Lindsey said and then turned to her mom. "Can we hang glide too mommy?"  
  
Catherine glanced over at Grissom. "What do you think Gil?"  
  
"We're here to have a good time. So, if you want to then let's do it."  
  
Lindsey jumped up and down. "Wahoo!"   
  
"What do we have to do?" Grissom asked.  
  
Kasey smiled. "Just call Kitty Hawk Kites. You have to schedule an appointment to take the class and then they take you out to the sand dunes and then you get to hang glide."  
  
Grissom looked down at Lindsey. "You sure you want to?"   
  
"Yep!"  
  
"Okay, we'll call and see if we can take the class tomorrow."  
  
Lindsey smiled happily. She then focused back on the two girls. "Can we watch you?"  
  
"I guess." Kasey told her. "It's up to your mom and Mr. Grissom though."  
  
Lindsey looked at her mom. "Can we mommy? That way we can see what it's like."  
  
"All right. If that's okay with Grissom."  
  
"It's fine with me." He answered before Lindsey could even ask. The little girl gave him a huge. "Thank you, thank you! I love you."  
  
He smiled really big. "You're welcome and I love you too."  
  
"Okay. I guess we'll see you there." Melissa said and gave them directions to where they would be. "Also you can contact Kitty Hawk Kites by calling 877/FLY-THIS."  
  
"Thanks." Grissom said and watched as Kasey and Melissa walked off heading back toward their condo. Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey continued to shop around the strip until it was time to head over to the sand dunes. Once they got there, they noticed how big the dunes where. There was all ready a bunch of people there. Most were waiting to watch the hang gliders. Grissom walked up the dune and spotted Travis.   
  
Travis had his gear on and was waiting to take off. Grissom closed the distance between them. "Have you done this before?" He asked Travis.  
  
"Yeah, it's fun." He answered. "Kasey told me that you guys were going to do it tomorrow."  
  
"Yep. Isn't it cool." Lindsey said and stood beside Travis. She started looked at his gear. She began to ask him about what each thing he was wearing did. Travis answered all of her questions. Lindsey couldn't wait to watch them take off. Drake came up. "Hey Travis, Dennis said that you're up first."  
  
"Thanks Drake." Travis turned to Lindsey. "Well here I go. Wish me luck."  
  
"Good luck!" She called out. They watched as Travis was hooked up and soon he began to run. He lifted his legs and he was off. Lindsey was amazed as she watched Travis fly in the air. "That looks so cool." She said.  
  
After Travis landed, Kasey went next followed by Melissa and then Drake. The four were soon back up the dune. Catherine looked at Grissom. "Think you can do that?"  
  
"I guess we'll see tomorrow, won't we?"  
  
"I guess so."  
  
He turned to face her. "Don't think you're going to get out of flying. You're taking this class with us."  
  
'Busted.' Catherine thought. It did look fun. "Okay. But I get to pick the next fun activity."  
  
"You got it." He leaned over and kissed her. They watched the hang gliders for thirty more minutes. Travis, Kasey, Drake, and Melissa had gone down two times each. They were allowed three times, and Grissom was beginning to get hot up on the sand dune. So they didn't watch their third flight down. After saying good-bye, Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey went back to their condo to change into their swimsuits and go swimming in the pool.  
  
Warrick stepped out of the rental car agency in South Carolina. He was spinning the keys around his finger and met up with the others. They were waiting by the Tahoe that Greg picked out. "Okay, the manager said we could have the car for as long as we needed. He also mentioned that if we had to split up, he would have another Tahoe waiting for us."  
  
"You've got to love that southern hospitality." Greg said and watched as Warrick unlocked the doors and got in. Greg hopped in the front passenger seat, ensuring that Nick and Sara could sit together in the back.   
  
Warrick looked in the rearview mirror. "Nick, you still got that map?"  
  
Nick nodded and reached in his back pocket and pulled it out. He unfolded it and handed it to Warrick. "There you go."  
  
Warrick took it. "Thanks." His eyes cast down upon the map and he soon found Florence City-Co airport. They were right by the airport. Following his fingers on the map he gave directions. "Okay, we're in Florence we need to take Hwy. 501 South. That will lead us straight to Myrtle Beach." He started the car and they were on their way. Nick, Sara, and Greg fell asleep during the ride. Warrick had slept on the plane while the others were reviewing the case. 'Okay, Sara and Nick was reviewing the case. Greg was watching the movie.' He thought to himself. He stole a glance in the mirror to see that Sara had her head on Nick's shoulder. Her feet were pulled under her and her arm was around his chest. He turned his eyes back on the road and began looking for signs for Hwy. 501.   
  
Three hours later, they arrived at the beach. The body had been moved to the police station, so Nick thought it would be a good idea for two of them to go to where the body was found and the other two to go and check the body. Sara quickly volunteered to work the beach. She didn't think she could handle looking at another battered woman. So she and Greg walked along the beach and met up with the officer that was called to the scene. Sara pulled out her I.D. and introduced herself and Greg.  
  
The officer was very tall. He stood at least six feet six inches. His head was bald and he had piercing blue eyes. He extended his hand out. "I'm Officer Hightower."  
  
Greg tried not to laugh. He had to turn away because of the smirk that kept creeping out.  
  
Sara shook Hightower's hand. "Can you show us where you found the body?" She asked wanting to get started and to keep Greg from getting his ass kicked.  
  
"Right this way." Hightower walked off and Sara turned to Greg and slapped his arm hard.   
  
"Ouch." He said rubbing his arm trying to soothe the sting that was now penetrating around the red spot on his arm. "What was that for?"  
  
Sara chose not to answer. Instead she followed the officer down to the beach. He stopped a few feet from the crashing waves. "Her body was found here."  
  
Sara looked around. There was no way that they were going to gather any evidence this close to the water. The waves would have washed away anything the killer left behind. "Was there a CSI team here to take photos?" She asked hoping to at least she what the crime scene had looked like.  
  
"Yeah, they took pictures and tried to gather evidence."  
  
"Did they find anything?" Greg wanted to know."  
  
Officer Hightower shot a glance over to him. "I haven't heard anything but you're welcome to check out our lab."  
  
"That would be great." She and Greg followed the officer back to the police station. They walked in a small lab.   
  
"Wait here and I'll see what's going on." Hightower told them. He made his way down the hallway and soon was out of sight.  
  
"That guy is way too weird." Greg commented.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Sara asked him.  
  
"I don't know, I think it's his eyes." He shuddered at the thought of them. "I hate to be on his bad side."  
  
"Then maybe you shouldn't laugh at his name." She suggested.  
  
"I can't help it. I mean how funny is that. He's like Officer Hightower on Police Academy but white."  
  
Sara just shook her head. A few moments later another man approached them. "Are you from the Vegas crime lab?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm Sara Sidle." She pointed to Greg. "And this is Greg Sanders. Are you the CSI in charge?"  
  
"Yes, I'm Hunter Davis." He pulled out some photos and handed them to Sara. "I was told you wanted to see pictures of the crime scene."  
  
She took them and grimaced. The woman's face and body looked like the rest. It was beaten and bruised. "Were you able to pull anything off the body?"  
  
"Sadly no. Of course we are waiting for the results of the rape kit. We're hoping that we'll have some DNA from the semen."  
  
"You're not going to find any." She simply stated.  
  
"How do you know?" He asked but was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. "Davis, oh yes thank you Michael. All right, thanks again." He hung the phone up and looked at Sara. "It seems you're correct Miss Sidle. The test didn't show any DNA from any part of the body. Not even under the nails."  
  
"Who ever this guy is, he's a professional. He obviously knows about forensics and what not to leave at the scene." Greg replied.  
  
"I'm sorry I can't help you anymore." Davis told them and walked away.  
  
"I guess we wait for Nick and Warrick." Greg said and glanced down at his watch. It read five o'clock eastern time. He knew that it would take him a while to get used to the time change. He glanced up and spotted Warrick and Nick making their way toward them. Nick was the first to speak. "We didn't find anything helpful."  
  
"Neither did we." Greg told him.  
  
"Now what?" Sara asked.  
  
"I guess we're splitting up. Nick and I will go to Georgia and you and Greg check North Carolina." Warrick answered.   
  
"We don't even know who we're looking for. How are we supposed to find him?" She stated.  
  
"Look all I know is that he's going to strike again tonight, since our victim died here last night. We have a few hours before it gets dark. We just have to watch and see."  
  
"All right. But keep in touch."  
  
"We will." Warrick promised. They all stepped outside the station and headed toward the Tahoe. They found another rental car agency and rented another car. Greg picked out a silver convertible and wouldn't leave with any other car. After telling each other good-bye and good luck, the four split up and began driving off in different directions.   
  
It was eight o'clock and Lindsey was running along the shore occasionally sticking her feet in the water. She was trying to find some new shells. Her mom and Grissom were right behind her. Grissom bent down and picked one up. "Here's a good one Linds." He called out. She ran back to him and glanced at the shell. "Can you put it in my bucket?"  
  
"Sure." Grissom placed the shell in her bright pink bucket.   
  
Lindsey walked down further and noticed that a woman was making her way slowly along the beach ahead of her. Even from far away, Lindsey recognized her. "SARA!" She called out.  
  
This got Catherine and Grissom's attention. Catherine stared at her daughter. "Sweetie, that's not Sara. She's in Vegas."  
  
Lindsey shook her head. "Not anymore. I'm telling you its Sara. I'll prove it." Lindsey took off running. Catherine began to chase after her with Grissom right behind her.  
  
"SARA!" Lindsey called out and ran harder.  
  
Sara was slowly walking along the beach taking in each male that was there. She suddenly heard a familiar voice that was calling her name. She turned around and saw Lindsey running right toward her.   
  
Lindsey ran up to her. "Sara, I knew it was you." She gave the older woman a hug and pulled away. Catherine and Grissom finally caught up and confusion spread among their faces at the sight of Sara.  
  
"Sara? What are you doing here?" Grissom asked.  
  
"Working a case." She answered and began to tell them the whole story. When she was done she smiled at him. "And you are not allowed to help us in any way."  
  
Grissom was about to comment but she stopped him. "You're on vacation. Besides we can handle it. Greg's on down the beach somewhere. We thought it would be best to split up."  
  
"Do you have any idea how big the Outer Banks are?" Catherine asked her.  
  
"Yes, I do as a matter of fact. Greg and I tried to decide which area would be more populated and which area we thought our killer might strike."  
  
"And you narrowed it down to this section?" Grissom stated not fully understanding why.  
  
"Well, this part of the beach has a lot more tourists than the others. So, yeah." Sara replied trying to defend her reasoning.  
  
Grissom was about to comment again when Sara stopped him. "Look, I have to go. I'm supposed to be working. I hope you have a good rest of your vacation." She turned to face Catherine. "Be careful. I have no clue what type of women our guy likes."   
  
"Thanks for the warning. You be careful." Catherine said.  
  
"Always." With that Sara waved bye and began walking along the beach away from them.   
  
Several miles down the stretch, Greg was also checking out the people. He had to mentally force himself not to look at the girls in bikinis and try and focus on strange behaving men. A blonde woman walked by him and winked. He smiled at her but kept going. 'I should get a raise. This is torture.' He thought to himself. Greg walked across the shore letting the waves hit his feet. He had been out there for thirty minutes just walking. He thought about turning back around, but knew that he was supposed to join up with Sara. Another ten minutes went by and still nothing. He caught a glimpse of Sara way up ahead. 'Great, we did pick the wrong part of the beach to search.'   
  
Sara walked up to him and smiled. "No luck huh?"  
  
"Nope. I take it you didn't see anything either."  
  
"I ran into Grissom and Catherine."  
  
"Really? That's cool."  
  
"Yeah, I told them about our case and to be careful." Sara and Greg began walking together back toward the convertible that was a good five miles away.   
  
"Man, I'm tired of walking." Greg commented.  
  
"We defiantly got our exercise in today."   
  
"I wonder how Nick and Warrick are doing."   
  
Sara pulled out her cell phone. "I'll give them a call." She hit memory one on her cell phone, which automatically dialed Nick's number. It rang twice before he answered. "Stokes."  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hey Sara. How's the search going?"  
  
"Not good. How are things on your end?"   
  
"Warrick and I split up and trailed the beach area, but I didn't see any one acting strangely."  
  
"We didn't either. I'm thinking that Greg and I chose the wrong part of the Outer Banks. This place is so huge though."  
  
"I know." Sara's connection started to break up and she was having trouble hearing Nick.   
  
"Nick, I can't hear you." Static. "Nick?" Once again she was greeted to the sound of static and then nothing. She looked down on her phone and noticed that her battery was dead. "Great."  
  
Greg turned to face her. "What's wrong?"  
  
"My battery is dead."  
  
He pulled out his. "Want me to use mine?"  
  
"No, it's okay. Nick and Warrick aren't making progress either." She sighed and glanced down at her watch. It was close to ten. "By the time we make it to another section of the beach, it will be too late."  
  
"Maybe our killer isn't even here." Greg stated.  
  
"That would mess up his pattern though. He goes state by state."  
  
"True, but he's a professional with knowledge of forensics. Maybe he did this on purpose to get us off his trail."  
  
"Makes sense."   
  
They walked the rest of the way to the car in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts, unaware of someone watching them.  
  
Warrick and Nick were back in the Tahoe driving to the Outer Banks. They wanted to regroup with Greg and Sara and find a place to sleep for the night. Warrick glanced over at Nick. "Try Sara again."  
  
"I did, she's not answering. Her battery might be dead."  
  
"Then call Greg." Warrick told him.  
  
Nick knew he had Greg's cell phone number stored in his phone somewhere. He finally found it and dialed the number. "Yo." Greg answered.  
  
"Hey Greg."  
  
"Nick my man! How's it going?"  
  
Nick smiled to himself. "Listen, Warrick and I are heading in your direction. We thought we should regroup and find a place to sleep. We obviously were wrong about where our guy is going to strike next."  
  
"Yeah no kidding."  
  
"Where are you guys?"  
  
"At the car, Sara and I were trying to think of what to do next. She thought we should try another part of the beach."  
  
"Tell her don't bother. We're not going to find him tonight."  
  
"So, you're coming here?"   
  
Nick glanced out the window and realized they were now in the Outer Banks. "Yep, just tell me where to meet you guys."  
  
He heard Greg ask Sara where they were and then discuss about a proper meeting place. Greg got back on the phone. "Sara said that if it wasn't for Grissom and Catherine being on vacation, we should crash at their place."  
  
"You saw Grissom and Catherine?" Nick was somewhat surprised at the odds of that happening.  
  
"I didn't. Sara did."  
  
"Oh, okay. You know it would save money if we stayed there. I mean it would only be for the night."  
  
"True, I'll call Grissom's cell phone and find out where they are and call you back." Greg told him.  
  
"Thanks man." Nick heard the click and put his phone down. He relayed the conversation to Warrick.  
  
"Poor guy can't get rid of us on his vacation." Warrick commented.  
  
"Yeah, just don't get any ideas about Sara and my honeymoon."  
  
"Don't worry, I won't." The phone rang and Nick picked it up. He talked briefly and wrote down directions on a scrap piece of paper. "Thanks again Greg. We'll see you there." Nick hung up the phone and relayed the directions to Warrick.   
  
An hour later, the four were at Grissom's condo. They walked inside and were greeted by Lindsey, who needless to say was ecstatic to see them. She was sitting between Warrick and Nick on the couch. She was telling them everything they've done so far including running into the cousins. Greg's head shot up the moment Kasey's name was mentioned. "Kasey's here?"  
  
"Yep. We watched them hang glide today and we're going to do that tomorrow." She looked at Grissom. "Right Mr. Grissom?"  
  
"That's right sweetie." He answered. He felt like she might have been worried that he and her mother would have to work.   
  
"Yay!" She yawned and it didn't go unnoticed by Catherine.  
  
"Okay Linds. It's bed time." She told her.  
  
"But mommy."  
  
"Don't but mommy me. We've got a big day planned tomorrow. That is unless you don't want to learn to hang glide."  
  
Lindsey couldn't argue with her there. "Okay." She gave everyone a hug and told them goodnight. Catherine walked with her to her room to tuck her in and give her a kiss goodnight. She came back in a few minutes later and noticed the look on her friends' faces. "What did I miss?"  
  
"Nothing. We think it's sweet that Lindsey loves us so much." Nick answered for her.  
  
Catherine smiled. "You have no idea. Every time we're out somewhere and she sees something that reminds her of one of you, she tells me. Or if we're in the car and some kind of music is playing, she tells me Uncle Nick likes this song, or Uncle Warrick can sing that one."  
  
"Well, we love her too." Warrick told her.  
  
"I know. So, I guess you guys are pretty tired."   
  
"Yeah, thanks for letting us stay with you." Nick said.  
  
Grissom smiled. "Thank nothing of it. I was going to ask Sara earlier where you were going to stay."  
  
"Well, the condo has three bedrooms. Two of you can share a room and Sara if you want to you can stay in Lindsey's room with her. And the couch you're on pulls out into a bed." Catherine was telling them.  
  
"Thanks." Sara replied. "I'm going to go on to bed. I'm pretty tired." She got up and kissed Nick on the cheek. "Goodnight guys."  
  
"Night Sara."   
  
Warrick, Nick, and Greg played rock paper scissors to see who slept where. Warrick ended up beating them both. He decided to sleep on the couch, alone. "No offense guys."  
  
"None taken." Nick told him. Nick got up and looked at Greg. "You're sleeping on the floor."  
  
"What? No way Nick man! You're sleeping on the floor."   
  
"Rock paper scissors." Nick and Greg played and Nick lost again.  
  
"You lose, enjoy the floor." Greg told him and went back to his room. Nick shook his head. He couldn't believe it. "Why does that always happen?"  
  
"Face it man, it's just not your night." Warrick told him while pulling the sofa out making it into a bed.  
  
"Guess not. Sleep well."  
  
"Night Nick."   
  
Grissom and Catherine double-checked the door locks and went to bed as well. After a few minutes, everyone was sound asleep. Unknown to them all, a figure was standing out by their vehicles. He quietly tip toed around making little to no sound. He walked up the door and looked inside. He saw Warrick sleeping in the living room. He knew that the police would send them in. He knew all their names and where they were from. It was only natural that they would learn his pattern and follow him down. The only problem for them was they had no idea who he was or what he even looked like. Because of them, he had to change his plans, but he expected that. 'That's okay though, tomorrow is a whole new day.' He thought to himself. 'And I plan to make the most of it.'  
  
The next morning, Grissom walked quietly in the kitchen. He didn't want to wake Warrick up. He fixed himself a cup of coffee and walked outside to sit down in on of the chairs. He watched as the waves crashed into the shore. The sun was still rising causing the ocean to have an orange tint. 'I could live here.' Grissom thought to himself. The only thing he needed was a crossword puzzle. He heard the door open but didn't turn around to see who it was.   
  
"Morning Grissom." It was Sara. She had her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Her clothes were wrinkled from sleeping in them.  
  
"Hey Sara. How did you sleep?"  
  
"Okay, but I think Lindsey kicked me." She said and smiled. "I'm going out for a paper. Do you need anything?"  
  
"Could you bring me a crossword puzzle?"  
  
"Sure. I'll be back soon." She walked down the stairs and toward the store she saw on her way there last night. It was only a few minutes away, so she decided to just walk. Once she reached the store, she glanced at the newspapers. She was checking to see if anyone reported a murder from last night. She knew it was too early to check, but she also knew that reporters were nosey. After looking at all them, she found nothing. She walked down another aisle and found a huge book of crossword puzzles. She smiled. 'Grissom will have this done before he comes home.' She thought and picked it up. She also picked up a few more things including her breakfast, which was a bagel with cream cheese. She paid for everything and walked back to the condo. She walked up the stairs and went inside. Everyone was awake and she could smell the bacon cooking on the stove. She placed the bags down on the counter and pulled out her bagel.   
  
Nick came over and kissed her on the cheek. "Morning honey."  
  
"Morning Nick." She smiled and made her way to the table and sat down.   
  
"What's the plan for today?" Greg asked taking a seat across from Sara.  
  
"I have no clue." She told him. She looked over at Warrick. "What do you think?"  
  
"That our guy isn't here or if he is here he didn't kill anyone last night."  
  
"Well, that tells us a lot." Greg replied with a hint of sarcasm. "What are we supposed to do now? Go to Virgina, Maryland?"  
  
Warrick sighed. He had no clue. "I honestly don't know. I mean our guy is smart. He knows what we know and he has to know by now that we're on to him."  
  
"We don't even know who he is." Sara commented and took a bite of her bagel.  
  
"This is hopeless. I say we go back to Vegas and let the Feds handle it." Greg replied leaning back against his chair.  
  
"And what do you think the Feds are going to do Greg? We're forensic scientists and we can't even find a shred of DNA to link us to this guy. He leaves no clues what so ever. He cleans everything. Hell, I would be willing to bet he's a CSI." Warrick told him. He was angry, but not with Greg. He was just angry that they couldn't find the guy.  
  
"What if he is a CSI?" Nick asked. The others looked at him. "I'm serious. Who better to commit a crime than a trained CSI? Think about it."  
  
"Nick's right, maybe we're looking at this all wrong. I mean who else could pull off something like this and not leave any clues behind?" Sara asked.  
  
Grissom was listening to their conversation added. "Remember there is no such thing as a perfect crime. He'll mess up sometime."  
  
Sara looked at him. "And what are we supposed to do while we're waiting for him to screw up?"  
  
"Well, since you think our person is a CSI then get on the computer and do a search for anyone that might have a grudge. Or maybe someone that's been fired."  
  
"Do you realize how many CSIs are out there?" She asked.  
  
"Yes, so I suggest you better get started." He replied and gave her a grin. Sara exhaled and grabbed the keys to the Tahoe. She walked outside and opened the back. She pulled out a laptop and shut the door. She went back inside and placed the keys on the table, grabbed the rest of her bagel, and then left again.  
  
"Hey, where are you going?" Nick called out to her.  
  
"Since I'm stuck doing research, I'm going to do it on the beach." She called back and made her way there.  
  
Nick smiled. "Clever girl." He said. He glanced over at Grissom. "What should we do?"  
  
Before he could answer Lindsey came over to Grissom. "When are we leaving?"  
  
Grissom smiled at her. "Soon sweetie. Are you ready?"  
  
"Yeah, but mommy's not."   
  
"Tell her to get ready. We have to be there soon." He watched as Lindsey disappeared down the hall. He then focused on Nick. "Keep watching the news to see if any bodies were reported. Other than that, I don't know." He walked out of the kitchen leaving the other three feeling very clueless.  
  
Sara was sitting in an abandoned chair along the beach. She had no clue whose chair it was but if they came back, she would get up. Until then, she was making very good use of it. She had typed in a search for anyone who had quit to anyone who had been fired from their CSI position. She soon received a huge list of names. 'Great.' She thought and began to dissect each name individually. She was so caught up in her work that she never saw the volleyball coming her way. The ball hit her laptop and bounced down by her feet. She grabbed the ball and glanced up to see who had lost it. A man approached her with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry." He replied.  
  
She smiled back. "It's okay." She handed him the ball and started back on her research. She could still feel his presence surrounding her. She looked up and noticed he was staring at her.   
  
"You know you really shouldn't be doing work while you're on vacation."  
  
"I'm not on vacation." She told him simply. She really wanted him to leave for two reasons. Reason one was because she wanted to get back to work, and the second reason was because he was beginning to annoy her by standing there.  
  
"Oh, well that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself." He said gently and glanced back at the waves. "I'm sorry again for hitting you with the ball. Have a good day." He gave her one last smile and walked away.  
  
Sara exhaled and relief washed over her. She focused back on the computer in front of her and began researching.   
  
Warrick, Nick, and Greg decided to go and drive further up the Outer Banks. They basically wanted to check how populated the other areas were. Nick pulled out his cell phone and told Sara what they were doing and that they might not be back until later that evening. Nick was driving and Warrick sat in the passenger seat. Greg planted himself in the middle of the backseat. He did this in order to control the radio. He fixed it to where he could hear it in the back and Nick and Warrick couldn't. He found an alternative station that seemed to play all of his favorite songs. Right now Powerman 5000's song Free was playing. Greg began singing right along with it.   
  
Warrick grinned and shook his head. 'Greg and his music.' He thought and stared out the window. There were a lot of people. Many were walking down the street, shopping, and eating at outside restaurants. He couldn't distinguish between the locals and the tourists. "Man, we'll never find our guy this way."  
  
"I don't know what else to do." Nick told him.  
  
"We could wait until he kills again and pray that he leaves us evidence." Greg commented.  
  
"I think there's been enough death, Greg." Warrick replied.  
  
"I know, but what happens if our guy is in Maine?"  
  
"Then he broke his routine. He struck in South Carolina, his profile tells us that North Carolina or Georgia is his next target." Nick responded. He knew that Greg hated feeling useless and confused as much as the rest of them did.  
  
Greg remained quiet and listened to his music. The only noise he made was when he was singing along with the radio station.  
  
Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey just finished their lesson in hang gliding and they were ready to take their flight. They had their equipment on and waited their turn. Grissom was going to go first, then Lindsey. Catherine didn't want her daughter to be alone up on the dune. "Okay Gil, it's time to strap in." Their instructor Wayne told them.  
  
Grissom looked over at Catherine and Lindsey. "Wish me luck."  
  
"Good luck." They responded.  
  
He walked over to Wayne and Wayne helped him get hooked onto the kite. He gave him quick instructions about how to take off and how to land. Most of the instructions were just a reminder of what he had just learned in class. "Have a good flight." Wayne said.  
  
"I hope so." Grissom held onto the grips and began his descent. He quickly ran and lifted his feet off the ground. Soon, his kite caught some air and he was soaring along the dunes. Grissom smiled to himself. 'This is great.' He thought. He flew pretty far down and soon landed safely on the ground. Another instructor was at the bottom waiting for him. She quickly helped him out of the kite. He placed the kite on the ground and watched as Lindsey made her way toward him. He quickly grabbed the camera that was attacked to his belt and began to take pictures of her as soon as he was able to focus in on her. He knew Catherine would want one. Lindsey landed on the ground and laughed.  
  
"Wow, that was awesome!" The instructor helped her out. Lindsey glanced at Grissom. "Can we do that again?"  
  
"Sure, we've got two more flights to go."  
  
"Yay!" She looked back toward the dune. "Look, there's mommy!"  
  
Grissom snapped another picture of Catherine and then greeted her as she landed.   
  
"Man, that was a rush." She stated.  
  
Grissom handed the camera over to the instructor. "Kathy, would you mind taking a picture of the three of us?"  
  
"I wouldn't mind at all." Kathy replied and took two pictures of them. She handed the camera back to Grissom. "I'll see you guys on the next trip down."  
  
"Yep, see you soon Kathy." Lindsey said and grabbed her kite. She, Grissom, and her mom walked back up the hill to take their next flight down.  
  
Sara rubbed her sore eyes. She'd been staring at the computer for an hour. So far she was able to narrow the list down to a hundred people. It wouldn't have been that low, but some of the people who had quit took different government jobs. One name on the list was Eckley. 'Yeah, that would be our luck.' She thought. 'Nah, Eckley couldn't pull this off, he's too messy.' She glanced at the beach and smiled at the two little kids that were making a sand castle. She found herself watching them for quite a while. They paid her no attention. The little boy, who couldn't have been more than five, was looking around for a seashell to put on top of the castle. Sara decided to see if she could find one for them. She scoped the area around her chair and soon found one. She got up from her chair and picked it up. She held her laptop in one hand and the shell in the other. She walked up the little boy and his sister. "Will this help?" She asked him and showed him the shell.  
  
He looked up at her. His brown eyes were the color of Nick's and Sara's heart seemed to melt. He grinned as soon as he saw what she was holding. "Can I have that?"  
  
"Sure." She handed it to him and he quickly grabbed it and then placed the shell on top of the castle.   
  
"It's perfect. Look Leslie, isn't it great?"   
  
Leslie, who in Sara's opinion might have been three, clapped her hands and laughed.   
  
Their mother, who had watched the entire exchange from her chair, smiled at Sara and then looked at her son. "Adam, what do you say?"  
  
Adam smiled at Sara. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome." Sara told them bye and decided to head back toward the condo. On her way, she heard someone shout her name. She looked around and saw Travis running to her. "Hey Sara." He greeted her.  
  
"Hey Travis. Lindsey told me you were here." She quickly gave him a hug.  
  
"Yeah, but we didn't know you were coming."  
  
"Oh, well, I'm here working a case." She answered.  
  
Travis nodded. "Cool, I guess." Before he could say more, the rest of his cousins came up and greeted Sara.  
  
"Is Greg here too?" Kasey asked.  
  
"Greg's here along with Nick and Warrick. We're working a case." Sara told her.  
  
"Can we go see them?" Drake wondered.   
  
Sara grinned. "They went riding along the coast but they'll be back later this evening."  
  
"Sweet." Travis glanced at her laptop. "Must suck having to work near the beach."  
  
Sara laughed. "That is does. Hey, are you guys busy?"  
  
"We were just walking along the beach trying to decide what we wanted to do today." Melissa informed her.  
  
"Would you like to come and hang out with me at the condo? That way you could be there when the others get back."  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like fun." Kasey said. They walked back toward Grissom's condo and went inside. Sara went into the kitchen, grabbed five bottles of soda, and went into the living room and passed them out.  
  
"This condo is nicer than ours." Travis stated.  
  
"Well, they make a lot more money than Gammy does." Kasey replied. She took a seat on the couch and Melissa sat down beside her. Travis crashed beside Melissa. Drake sat down on the other sofa and Sara was on the other end of it.   
  
"That's true."   
  
Drake wanted to see what was on television so he grabbed the remote and flipped it on. He soon settled on a movie they could all agree on, Jurassic Park. Sara smiled and went back to work on her computer. An hour later, Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey came in. Lindsey was tickled to find the others there. "Awesome! When did you guys get here?"  
  
"About an hour ago." Kasey told her.  
  
Lindsey smiled and began telling them about her hang gliding experience. "Hey, do you guys want to go swimming?" She asked.  
  
"Sure." Travis said.  
  
Lindsey turned to her mom. "Can we go swimming?"  
  
"It's okay with me, but I don't you going to the beach. You can swim in the pool outside."  
  
"Okay." She looked at Travis. "I'll be right back, I have to put on my swimsuit." She ran into her bedroom and closed her door.  
  
Catherine smiled at the cousins. "You guys don't have to take her swimming."  
  
"It's okay, we don't mind." Melissa told her.  
  
"Besides, we were going to go swimming later on anyway." Kasey added.  
  
"Alright." Lindsey came running back with a towel wrapped around her. "I'm ready."  
  
Catherine walked over to her. "You need to put some sunscreen on."  
  
"Mommy." Lindsey whined.  
  
"I don't want to hear it. You're going to get burned if you don't."  
  
"Fine." Lindsey ran into the bathroom and grabbed the lotion. She was putting it on her as she came back in the living room. Catherine helped her put it on her back and face. "Okay sweetie, have fun." Catherine told her.  
  
"I will." She and the cousins walked out of the condo and headed for the pool. Catherine just shook her head and took a seat on the sofa next to Sara. She glanced at the younger woman. "How's the search going?"  
  
Sara looked up from the screen. "I've got it narrowed down to fifty suspects." She told her.  
  
"Well, I guess that's better than five hundred."  
  
Sara sighed. "I suppose so."  
  
"Don't give up, you'll figure it out."  
  
"I hope so." Sara told her and went back to work.  
  
After several hours of driving, Nick decided it was best for them to head back to the condo. He and Warrick decided that they needed to move to another state. So they were on their way to pick up Sara. They decided to drive up to Virginia and check the beaches there. They also wanted to leave Grissom and Catherine alone so they could have a proper vacation. He pulled the Tahoe up beside the rental car Greg had picked out. Warrick got out of the car and walked inside. Greg and Nick were right behind him. "Hey Warrick." Kasey called out from inside the condo.  
  
"Hey girl. What's going on?" He asked and gave her a hug.  
  
"Not much. How about you?"  
  
"Just working on a case." He told her.  
  
Greg walked in. "Kasey!" He ran over and hugged her.  
  
"Hey Greg." She pulled out of the hug and smiled. After the greeting and hugs were done, Nick went over to Sara.  
  
"We've decided to try another state. Our guy isn't here."  
  
"Okay. How are we splitting up and who is going where?" She asked knowing that the guy still might keep some of his pattern the same.  
  
"We're going to Virginia. Warrick and Greg can go to Maryland."  
  
"Why not Florida?"  
  
"Florida is too big and it will take all four of us to search it."  
  
"Makes sense." She told him. "Let me take a shower and gather my stuff."  
  
"We're not leaving right away so take your time." He told her.  
  
"Thanks." Sara briefly kissed him and walked toward the back.   
  
Nick sat down on the sofa beside Warrick and grabbed the remote control. He began flipping through the channels trying to search for a news station. He finally found one and began watching it. Greg was sitting in the kitchen talking to the cousins until Kasey glanced down at her watch. "Crap, we're going to be late." She said.  
  
"Late for what?" Greg asked her.  
  
"We made reservations for supper."  
  
"Oh, well I guess this is good-bye again." He said with a frown on his face.  
  
She smiled at him. "Who knows, we might see each other again. Maybe next time, I'll come to Vegas and visit."  
  
"You can spend the night at my place." Greg responded with a renewed enthusiasm.   
  
"Thanks."  
  
Melissa, Travis, and Drake got up and said their good-byes then walked outside. Kasey stayed back with Greg and gave him a hug. "Later Greg." She told him as soon as she pulled away.  
  
He kissed her cheek. "Come visit me." She said she would and then walked out the door. He watched as the four left and then made his way into the living room and sat down on the other sofa. Warrick glanced at him. "Man, you've got it bad."  
  
"Got what?"  
  
"I saw how you were looking at her."  
  
"It doesn't matter anyway, she's too young for me and she only lives on the other side of the U.S."  
  
Nick faced Greg. "Don't worry, you'll find some one."  
  
"Thanks Nick." Greg glanced around. "Hey, where did Catherine and Grissom go?"  
  
Lindsey came from the back room and answered him. "In their bedroom talking." She sat down beside Greg. "I heard you talking about Kasey. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she likes someone else."  
  
Greg looked at her. "And how do you know?"  
  
"Girl talk. She and Melissa told me who they had crushes on. And then Travis told me about his girlfriend." She replied smiling and added. "I told them who I liked too."  
  
This got Warrick's attention. "My Lindsey has a boyfriend?"  
  
She laughed. "No Uncle Warrick. I don't have a boyfriend."  
  
He smiled. "Good, because I would have to chase him off with a stick." He commented making her laugh even harder.   
  
"Uncle Warrick." She cried and ran over to him. She put her arms around him and gave him a hug. He hugged her back and then sat her on his lap. "So, who's the boy you like?"  
  
She shook her head no. "I'm not telling."  
  
"Oh, come on. Please." He begged and pouted.  
  
She smiled. "Okay, since you asked so nicely. His name is Cameron and he's so cute. He's got hair like Nick's and eyes like yours."  
  
"Wow. Did you meet him in school?"  
  
"Yeah, he sat a few chairs away from me."  
  
Nick and Greg were watching the interaction between Warrick and Lindsey. Greg snatched the remote from Nick and switched channels.  
  
"Hey, I was watching that." Nick yelled.  
  
"No you weren't. Besides, they're talking about the president not our killer." Greg responded and continued to channel surf. He found the music stations and tried to find a video to watch. He was having zero luck in that department.   
  
"Oh, let him watch it Nick. He's heartbroken. He's the only one in here that doesn't have someone." Warrick said teasingly.   
  
Greg shot him a look. "Hey, I heard that."  
  
"Good, you were supposed to."  
  
Lindsey smiled at Greg. "It's okay Greg. Cameron doesn't like me either."  
  
"What do you mean he doesn't like you?" Greg asked.  
  
"Yeah, you're the most beautiful girl in school." Nick told her causing Lindsey to smile really big.  
  
"Thanks Uncle Nick." She got off Warrick's lap and hopped up on Nick's. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and settled in his lap.   
  
Sara walked in right at that moment. "Uh oh, should I be jealous?"  
  
Lindsey smiled. "Don't worry Sara. I'm just keeping Nick warm for you."  
  
Sara didn't know what to say. She glanced over at Warrick, who was fighting very hard to keep from laughing. She just laughed and walked over and sat down beside Warrick.   
  
Grissom and Catherine walked in both looked a bit flushed, but no one commented on it. Especially since Lindsey was in the room. Nick pulled his left arm up to get a glance at his watch. He noticed it was getting late. "I guess we need to get out. We've got a long drive ahead of us."  
  
"Tell me about it." Warrick commented. "Greg and I have further than you and Sara."  
  
"Well, then Sara and I will go to Maryland and you can take Virginia." Nick told him.  
  
"Would you mind? I'm still tired from driving yesterday?"  
  
"Not at all." Nick replied. The four began to gather their stuff together and pack it in the two cars. As soon as everything was packed, they walked inside to say good-bye.  
  
"Bye guys. Thanks for letting us crash here for the night." Warrick told them.  
  
"It was no problem." Catherine told him.  
  
"Good luck with the case." Grissom said.   
  
Lindsey gave them all a hug. "Be careful. Bye." She ran back inside and changed the tv station to cartoons.   
  
Nick and Sara waved bye and got in the Tahoe. Sara was in the driver's seat. She backed the Tahoe out and gave them one last wave and then the vehicle disappeared down the road. Warrick and Greg were next to leave. Greg was driving and he had the music cranking. Grissom and Catherine waited until they no longer saw the car and then went back inside and shut the door.  
  
A man walked along the different condos watching them. He was very disappointed in the team from Vegas. He had hopped that they would have stayed one more night to enjoy his show. Oh well, he had done some investigating earlier and was able to get the e-mail address from the laptop Sara had on the beach. He took a big risk by going up to her, but he needed to get a look at her computer. Luckily for him, she had been checking her e-mail when the ball slammed into her. He quickly memorized both e-mail addresses that were displayed before him. He had savored the nervousness that seemed to pour out of her when he was around. He couldn't wait to devour it again.  
  
Greg was behind the driver's wheel, much to Warrick's dismay. The young lab tech was doing seventy-five in a sixty mile per hour zone with the music cranking so loud, Warrick would have sworn they were creating a noise violation. "Greg, do you think you could possibly turn that music lower and maybe slow down?"  
  
Greg looked at him "What?"  
  
Warrick yelled louder. "I said turn the music down."  
  
"I can't hear you the music's too loud!" He shouted back.  
  
Warrick reached over and cut the music off. Greg shot him a look. "Hey!"  
  
"Don't even think about turning that back on. My ears are ringing and slow down."  
  
Greg slowed the car down to sixty-five miles per hour. "Why are you so ill?"  
  
"Sorry, I guess it's a combination of things. Lack of sleep and this stupid case are a just a few of them."   
  
"I understand. Maybe you should get some sleep."  
  
Warrick nodded his head and closed his eyes. They were about an hour away from Virginia Beach. He decided that he could really use an hour of sleep. To his relief, Greg never turned the radio back on. He was out before he knew it.  
  
Sara was driving through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel heading toward Maryland. She and Nick still had a long way to drive. They decided that Ocean City would be the place their killer might go. They still had at least a three-hour drive to get there. Nick had been sleeping for about twenty minutes. So, she had some music playing softly in the background. She came out of the tunnel and was now on a road indicated as thirteen. She checked the map earlier and knew that she had to follow that road until she got on one thirteen, which leads right to Ocean City. She was beginning to feel tired, but she didn't want to switch with Nick. He had about as much sleep as she had. So she grabbed a soda from the small cooler between hers and Nick's seat. She opened it and took a big sip hoping the caffeine would soon kick in.   
  
The restaurants in town were crowed still crowded at eight thirty. Grissom was driving along the streets trying to find them a descent place to grab some good seafood. He wanted seafood at least one time while they were at the beach. He finally found a place that didn't look too crowded and parked in an empty parking spot. Lindsey and Catherine got out and walked with him inside. The hostess smiled and greeted them. "Hi, three in your party?"  
  
"Yes." Grissom confirmed.  
  
"Follow me please." They followed her to an empty booth that sat against a wall. "You're waitress will be right with you." She told them and walked off.  
  
Grissom and Catherine sat on one side, while Lindsey hopped in the other. There were menus already placed on the table as well as silverware. Lindsey grabbed the kid's menu and began looking through it.   
  
A woman, with black hair tied in a messy bun, came over. "Hi, my name is Alley and I'll be serving you tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?"  
  
Grissom scanned through the drinks but decided on something non-alcoholic especially since Lindsey was with him. "I would like an iced tea with lemon."  
  
"I'll have the same." Catherine told her.  
  
Alley glanced at Lindsey. "And what for you sweetie?"  
  
"Can I have a code red mountain dew?"  
  
"Sure." She walked off to get their drinks. Catherine began skimming through the menu. She was pretty hungry and didn't have a clue of what she wanted. She looked over at her daughter. "What do you want Linds?"  
  
"Hmmm. I think I want a kid's fish sandwich with fries."  
  
"That sounds good." Catherine finally decided on catfish and Grissom ordered the calamari. They were given hushpuppies as an appetizer. Their waitress brought their drinks and took their order.   
  
They talked about different things over dinner. They decided to spend the day on the beach tomorrow. Lindsey wanted to try surfing again and Catherine wanted to work on her tan. Grissom figured he would work on the crossword puzzle book Sara had picked up for him. Lindsey took a bite of her sandwich and glanced over at Grissom. "Are Uncle Nick and them coming back?"  
  
"I don't think so honey." He answered her.  
  
"Are they going to find that man?"  
  
"Yes, they are. So you don't need to worry about it okay. We're going to have fun the rest of the week."  
  
"I'm having fun now." She told him and smiled.  
  
"Good." He gave her a smile back and took a bite of his food.   
  
Catherine watched the exchange between them and felt warm all over. She felt as if they were a real family and she didn't want it any other way. 'If only it was real.' She thought.  
  
Greg and Warrick finally arrived at Virginia Beach. They quickly found a place to park the car and got out. They walked along the beach and noticed that it wasn't very crowded. Of course it was nine thirty at night. They decided to split up and take different sections of the beach. Greg was walking along when his cell phone rang. "Hello?"  
  
"Greg Sanders?"  
  
"You know who I am, whose this?"  
  
"You're very cold." The voice stated plainly.  
  
Greg was confused. "What?"  
  
"You heard me. I said you're cold. You were hot in the Outer Banks."  
  
"Look I have no idea who this is but I'm hanging up." He was about to hang up but the voice stopped him.  
  
"Because you left another woman will die, and I will have to move." The line went dead. Greg stood there dumbfounded. He had a very bad feeling that the man he just spoke with was the killer. "Wait hot and cold. I get it, he was..." Realization hit Greg. "Damn it! We were right there." He tried to call Warrick's cell phone but received a busy signal. He turned around and ran down the beach hoping to catch up with Warrick.  
  
Warrick had been walking along the beach when his cell phone rang. "Brown." He answered.  
  
"Hello Warrick." The voice calmly stated.  
  
"Who is this?"  
  
"You're friends must not really like you that well if they make you sleep on the couch."  
  
Warrick stopped walking. "Who is this?"  
  
"Just your friendly neighborhood stalker out to tell you that another woman will die tonight because of your incompetence."   
  
Warrick heard the click and knew that the man had hung up. "Damn it! He was right outside our condo!" He knew that he had to find Greg and get back to the Outer Banks before it was too late. He began running and soon spotted Greg coming at him. At Greg's hurried pace; he assumed that the killer called him as well. Greg stopped in front of him. "We have to go back."  
  
Warrick nodded. "I know. I just got a call from the freak."  
  
"What about Nick and Sara?" Greg asked knowing that they needed their help."  
  
"They're hours away from us. It would take longer for them to get there. Our guy is going to strike tonight."   
  
Greg and Warrick ran back to the car and got in. They had a long drive and Warrick prayed that there weren't a lot of cops out because he knew they would be speeding back.  
  
The man just hung up the phone with Warrick and smiled to himself. He glanced at his watch and realized that they wouldn't make it back down until close to midnight or after. He only had a few hours to prepare his crime scene. He walked along the beach and spotted a young woman with long blonde hair. "I love a blonde." He said to himself. He waltzed over to her and began a conversation. Soon, he had her right where he wanted. He wrapped his arm around her waist and began telling her things he knew every woman longed to her. He sprinkled her with compliments and played the perfect gentleman. He lured her on down to the pier smiling all the way.  
  
Sara and Nick switched places as soon as they crossed the Virginia/Maryland border. Sara grabbed the laptop out and began to work on narrowing down their list of suspects. Nick glanced over at her and reached for her hand. "Come on Sara. Put that down and get some sleep. You've been driving for hours. You need your rest."  
  
Sara tried to suppress the yawn she felt coming but failed. "I guess you wouldn't believe me if I told you I wasn't tired."  
  
"Nope, I wouldn't."  
  
She was about to flip the case down when she received e-mail. She didn't recognize the address, but she thought it might have been someone from another CSI department trying to give her some information. She also noticed that it had an attachment along with it. She opened the mail and felt the blood from her head and face begin to drain.   
  
Nick took his eyes off the road to smile at his fiancée but froze as soon as he saw how pale her face was. "What's wrong?"  
  
She couldn't answer. He began to grow worried so he pulled over along the highway. "Sara, honey, what's wrong?"  
  
She found that she couldn't take her eyes off the image before her. Nick had to grab the computer and turn it towards him. He was sickened at the grossly displayed image before him. The picture was of a woman with multiple bruises along her face and body and several slashes across her chest and arms. Her hands were tied above her head. There was a note attached to the bottom. It read: Because you left another died. Maybe next time you should focus on what's around you than what's on your computer.  
  
Nick looked over at Sara and could see the tears forming in her eyes. "Sara?"  
  
"It's my fault Nick. He was right there."  
  
He was confused. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"That was him on the beach." She was saying more to himself than Nick.   
  
He put his arm around her shoulder. "Talk to me."  
  
She told him about the man hitting her with the volleyball and how she felt nervous around him. Nick reached over and cupped her chin pulling her face toward him. He kissed her gently on the lips. He deepened the kiss as he felt her arms wrap around his neck. They pulled away as soon they need air. She gave him a weak smile. "We better call Warrick."  
  
Nick nodded and pulled his cell phone out and dialed Warrick's number. He answered on the second ring. "Brown."  
  
"Warrick, it's Nick. I've got some bad news."  
  
"I already know. We missed our killer. He's in the Outer Banks."  
  
"He's killed again." Nick told him.  
  
"What?"   
  
"He just sent Sara an e-mail of the victim."   
  
"This sucks. Greg and I are heading back. We'll process the scene as soon as we find it."  
  
"Sara and I are going to start heading back down there, but it's going to take us a while."  
  
"I know, Greg and I are making our way now, but we won't be there until after midnight or close to one."  
  
"Okay, listen as soon as you find the body call me and let me know where it is. We'll be there as soon as we can."  
  
"All right, be careful."  
  
"You too. See you later." Nick hung up the phone and started the Tahoe back up. He checked the traffic and pulled out into the road and drove until he found an exit to where he could turn around.   
  
Warrick let Greg drive because he knew that the younger lab tech would drive a lot faster than he ever would and not even give it a second thought. Lady luck was definitely on their side tonight or at least that's what Warrick was thinking until he saw the flashing blue lights behind him.  
  
"Damn, what should we do?" Greg asked.  
  
"Pull over genius." Warrick answered and began reaching for his I.D. He knew that they would a lot of explaining to do.  
  
The officer, who happened to be a female, walked up and stared at the pair. "License and registration please."  
  
Greg handed her his Las Vegas driver's license and showed her the rental car slip with all the information on it.  
  
"Well Mr. Sanders, did you know that you were going ninety-five miles per hour?"  
  
"Yes ma'am I did, and I can tell you why." He replied as sweetly as she could.  
  
She glanced at him and then at Warrick. "Go on."  
  
Warrick handed her his CSI badge. "We're on our way to a crime scene. We've been tracking this guy down for a few days and he just contacted us. We just learned that he murdered another young woman in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We were hoping that we could catch him this time."  
  
The officer glanced at his badge. "You don't mind if I call this in to verify, do you?"   
  
"Of course not." He handed her his badge. Greg smiled and gave her his lab I.D. as well. "You can check me out to." He told her.  
  
"Don't worry, I will." She walked back to her car and got inside. Greg turned to Warrick. "She wants me."  
  
Warrick shook his head. "It's not your body she wants."  
  
"Well, she would if she didn't have the intentions of arresting us."   
  
Warrick chose not to comment. It took the officer ten minutes to come back.  
  
"Okay, I just got off the phone with Jim Brass. He told me the same thing you did. I'm letting you go, and I have strict orders to follow you to make sure no other officer pulls you over."  
  
"Thank you ma'am." Warrick responded grateful that she was helping them. He would have to remember to thank Brass as well. The officer nodded and got back in the car. Greg started the convertible and took off, the police car right behind him.  
  
Warrick stepped out of the convertible and headed toward the yellow crime scene tape that now decorated around a small section of the beach. He snapped a pair of latex gloves on and then took his kit from Greg. He lifted up the tape and made his way to the body. Police and other crime scene investigators were hovering around the woman like bees in a hive. A tall blonde hair woman noticed them and gave them a half smile. "The victim is Kelly Price. She's a local."  
  
Warrick got his first good look at the body. The bruising was identical to that of the other victims. "Find anything on or near her?" He asked already knowing the answer.  
  
"Nothing. Not even a footprint."  
  
"That's his style. No clues, no evidence." Warrick was beginning to hate this. They never should have left. 'If he follows his pattern he's going to be moving either north or south.' He thought to himself.   
  
"We're taking the body to the morgue. We'll do a rape kit and see if he left us some DNA." The woman told him.   
  
"There won't be, but let me know." He felt way too crowded so he walked back towards Greg. The young lab stayed as far away from the scene as he could.  
  
"Guess he's being his usual 'clean' self." He commented when Warrick stood beside him.  
  
"Yeah, man, I hate this."  
  
"Me too. What's our next move?"   
  
"I guess we wait and confirm what we already know, Price won't have a single shred of his DNA on her."  
  
"I guess that means we're spending the night here again."  
  
"Yeah, but not at Grissom's. We've ruined enough of their vacation. We'll find a motel or something."  
  
He and Greg headed back to the car. Greg hopped in the driver's seat and buckled up. "So, are we going to the morgue or a hotel?"  
  
"Motel. I'll call the morgue and have them contact us as soon as they find out something."  
  
He and Greg drove in silence and finally found a place that was open at this time of night. They paid for their room and Warrick decided to call Nick and see how far away they were. "Stokes."  
  
"Hey man, how's it going?"  
  
"I think I'm getting car sick." Nick replied half serious.  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"Elizabeth City. We should be there in the next two hours. Have you been to the scene?"  
  
"Yeah, we're waiting for the official report. Listen Nick, I know that you and Sara have been driving all night, but I was thinking that we're going to have to move again. Our killer is following his pattern, which means he's going to hit Virginia or Georgia."  
  
"Are you telling me to turn around and go back to VA?"  
  
Warrick hated to, but he would just have to turn around anyway. "Yes."  
  
"Fine, but we're spending the night in North Carolina. I can't hardly keep my eyes open."  
  
"Okay, be careful. I'll call you tomorrow with more info." He hung the phone up and stretched out on his bed. He had just dozed off when his phone rang. He answered it and then found himself talking to someone from the police department. They told him exactly what he was sure he knew; the suspect left nothing behind. Warrick thanked the officer and hung the phone back up. He glanced over at Greg and noticed that the he was fast asleep. Warrick closed his eyes and soon fell right back to sleep.  
  
Lindsey woke up at eight-thirty the next morning. She quietly walked down the hall and then in the living room. She glanced around and noticed that her mom and Grissom weren't up yet. She decided to take that time to watch some television. The condo's phone rang and she was hesitant to answer. Thinking it could have been Kasey, she ran and picked it up. "Hello?"  
  
"Hey kiddo, how's your vacation?" Jim Brass asked her on the other end.  
  
"Good. We're having an awesome time."  
  
"That's great, is Warrick there?"  
  
"No, he left yesterday. Would you like to talk to Mr. Grissom?"  
  
"That's okay, I was just looking for Warrrick. He's not answering his cell phone. Thanks Lindsey." She heard the click and shrugged her shoulders. 'Oh well.' She ran back in the living room and flipped through the channels. After the second round of channel surfing, she turned it off. She wanted to go swimming but she couldn't unless her mom went with her. She decided to go and wake them up. She made her way to their door and knocked. She didn't get an answer so she tried again but louder. Still no answer, so she opened the door. The bed was empty. "Mommy?" She checked the rest of the room and found nothing. "Mommy?" She called as she walked through the condo. She checked the bathroom and outside. She couldn't find them and they would never leave her alone. She was getting very scared. She thought something bad must have happened so she walked down the stairs and began walking toward the pool. It was still early and there wasn't anyone around. The pool didn't open until ten. Lindsey knew she had to stay brave. She thought that maybe her mom went to the beach to watch the sunrise and that she lost track of time. She walked down the beach and didn't find them. She was really scared now. She ran back toward the condo and then toward the store. She walked in and the old man who owned the store smiled at her when she came in. "Hey honey, what can I get you this morning?"  
  
"Has my mommy or Mr. Grissom come in?"  
  
"What do they look like?" He asked.  
  
She quickly gave a description of both. The man sadly shook his head no, which made Lindsey really upset. "Okay. Thanks." She ran back out and toward the condo. She wished that they hadn't left her. "Mommy where are you?" She cried and went inside. She locked the door and grabbed the telephone. She knew some of her mother's friend's numbers by heart. She tried Nick first and got a busy signal. Then she tried Warrick. She remembered Brass saying that he couldn't get in contact with Warrick, but she had to try. Warrick answered on the second ring. "Brown."  
  
"Uncle Warrick." She cried with tears traveling down her cheeks.  
  
"Lindsey? Sweetie what's wrong?"  
  
"They're gone." She answered and cried even harder.  
  
"Who's gone?"  
  
"Mommy and Mr. Grissom. I can't find them anywhere."  
  
"Okay, calm down honey. Lock the condo door and I'll be right there. Have you tried calling your mom's cell phone?"  
  
"No, I wasn't thinking about that."  
  
"All right, I'm about fifteen minutes away, I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't open the door for anyone but me and Greg okay."  
  
"Okay, please hurry." She hung up the phone and dialed her mother's number. She got Catherine's voice mail. "Mommy, where are you?" She asked and then hung up. Lindsey sat down on the floor and curled her knees to her chest. She stayed that way until she heard a knock at the door.  
  
Sara cut the shower off and stepped outside. She felt better after being able to sleep for a while. She changed into some fresh clothes and brushed her teeth. She didn't feel like fixing her hair today so she pulled it into a ponytail. She walked out of the bathroom and put her stuff in her suitcase. She could hear Nick's voice in the other room speaking to someone. She wasn't sure whom, but from his tone it had to be work related. "I know Brass, but we're working the best we can." She heard him say.  
  
Well that's one mystery solved. Brass was on the other line. She walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder. She squeezed it causing him to turn around and smile at her. "Yes Brass, I understand. Okay bye." Nick hung up the phone and reached for her waist. "Good morning." He leaned over and kissed her.  
  
"Good morning. What did Brass have to say?"  
  
"That we need to hurry and find our guy."  
  
"We will. So, we're going back to Virginia huh?"  
  
"Looks that way. At least it's only going to take about three hours to get there."  
  
She smiled at him. "You know with all this traveling, you and I aren't going to want to go anywhere on our honeymoon."  
  
"Oh no, you and I are going to have a proper honeymoon. I'm going to make sure of that." He stated and leaned over and kissed her again.  
  
"So, where are we going Mr. Stokes?" She asked. "Or is it a secret?"  
  
"I want to surprise you."  
  
"Okay, but do I get a hint?"  
  
"Nope, and I'm not telling you either. So you might as well drop it now."  
  
"Fine, it's dropped." She said and kissed him briefly. "For now." They spent the rest of the time packing up and eating breakfast. Soon, they were driving toward Virginia Beach.  
  
The first thing Warrick noticed when he pulled up to the condo, was that Grissom's Tahoe was still in the drive. He and Greg ran to the door and knocked. "Lindsey, it's Warrick."   
  
The door opened and she ran straight into his arms. "I was so scared."  
  
He picked her up and held her closely. "I know sweetheart. We're going to see if we can find them."   
  
Earlier, he had Greg try both Catherine and Grissom's cell phones. Greg's only response was voice mail from both phones. Warrick carried Lindsey out the door and decided to go toward the beach. He saw Catherine toward them. "There she is."  
  
Lindsey quickly got down and ran toward her mother. She latched on tightly and didn't let get go. "Lindsey, what's wrong?" She asked.  
  
"You left me alone."   
  
Catherine gave her an odd look. "Honey, I just went for a walk, besides Grissom was there."  
  
She shook her head no. "No, he's not. He was gone too. I tried to find you but I couldn't. I was scared so I called Uncle Warrick."  
  
Catherine felt horrible. She smiled sadly at Warrick and Greg. "I'm so sorry. Gil was there when I left. I told him I was going out for a walk."  
  
"It's okay Catherine." Warrick told her understanding how this happened. He glanced down at Lindsey. "You okay now?"  
  
"Yes. Thanks for coming." She released her mom and hugged Warrick.   
  
Greg looked at her. "What about me? I came to."  
  
She smiled at him and gave him a hug. "Thanks Greg. I'm glad you're here too."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Catherine thanked them as well. "Now I wonder where Gil went?"  
  
He walked up right behind her and answered. "Right here, what's going on?"  
  
"You left Lindsey alone." She told him.  
  
"What?" He gave her a confused stare. "I thought you said that you were taking Lindsey with you."  
  
"Wait a minute, you thought Lindsey went with me?" Catherine asked suddenly realizing exactly what happened. She watched as that same realization hit him. He walked over to Lindsey and squatted down. "Hey Linds, I'm sorry I left you. I thought you were with you're mother. Can you forgive me?"  
  
Lindsey gave him a smile. "Of course." She ran into his arms and he held her. He picked her up and then focused on his team. "What's your plans now?"  
  
Warrick told him the edited version of what had happened and that he and Greg were on their way to Georgia. "We're playing cat and mouse and he's the cat chasing us around."  
  
"Waiting to eat us as soon as we get tired of running." Greg added.  
  
Grissom sighed and wished them the best of luck. He thought he would never be so happy not having to work a case in his life. They said their good-byes and Warrick and Greg began the drive to Georgia.  
  
Nick and Sara arrived at Virginia Beach around twelve that afternoon. They parked near the beach and walked around checking out the area. It was crowded but not as crowded as it could have been. They held hands as they went along. Nick's stomach began to growl. "I'm getting hungry. How about you?"  
  
"I could eat something." They walked around until they found a restaurant that had an ocean view. They walked inside and were soon seated. Nick and Sara glanced over the menu. Nick noticed that the restaurant had about everything you could think of to eat. He just didn't know what he wanted.  
  
"Do you see anything you like?" He asked her.  
  
"The vegetarian lasagna sounds really good." She replied.  
  
"You know I think that shocked my parents more about me marrying a vegetarian than it did that I was getting married."  
  
Sara laughed. "I guess so considering where you're from."  
  
"I don't care, I still love you." He gave her a sexy grin and stared back at his menu. "I think I'll get the steak."  
  
"Oh, now that's original." She teased.   
  
"Unlike your veggie lasagna."  
  
"Touché" She retorted. They ordered their food and sat back and watched the action play before them at the beach.   
  
Warrick and Greg arrived in Georgia later on that evening. They looked through the entire map and Greg decided that if their killer is going to be anywhere he would pick Jekyll Island. "Jekyll Island, what a name." Warrick commented.  
  
"I think it's cool." Greg stated.  
  
"Yeah, you would." They parked the convertible down the street and got out. They walked around the area searching for anyone that looked strange. Of course right now, they were the only ones that looked out of place. Everyone else seemed to have swimsuits or shorts on.   
  
They walked around the island for an hour before they decided to head back and grab something to eat. Warrick's cell phone rang and he quickly picked it up. "Brown." A recorded message greeted him.  
  
"So far you are playing the game well and you are getting on the right track. Here is a clue to what might be my whereabouts. It has two words, the first was a young spy based on a children's book, the second is I don't believe you so I call you on it." Click, the phone call was over leaving Warrick very confused. He told Greg what the message had said.   
  
Greg pondered it for a moment. "Hmmm. A child spy." He thought for a few more minutes and than snapped his fingers. "Harriett."   
  
"Oh right, I remember that movie. Lindsey use to watch it."  
  
"Right, now what about the second clue?"   
  
Warrick repeated what the clue said. "I don't believe you so I call you on it. What would that be? A bluff?"  
  
"Harriett's bluff? You think that's a place?" Greg asked. They arrived at the car and began searching the map.  
  
"Here it is. Harriett's Bluff. I guess that our next stop." Warrick said and they were off again.  
  
Nick and Sara were walking along Virginia Beach when Nick's cell phone rang. "Stokes."  
  
"Hello." The recorded message began. "You and your fiancée are doing such a great job in tracking me down. If fact, you're doing such a splendid job that I am giving you some clues to my location. Two words. Batman and Superman have this and he beheaded many wives. Good-bye."  
  
Nick hung up the phone and turned to Sara. She saw the confusion in his eyes. "Who was that one the phone?" She asked.  
  
"Our killer, or at least a recorded message of our killer. He gave us clues to his location."  
  
"What were they?"  
  
"The first one was Batman and Superman have this."  
  
Sara thought about it. "Superpowers maybe?"  
  
Nick shook his head. "No, Batman is a normal guy and didn't have any. Hmm." He thought about it for a minute more. "I've got it. They both have a cape."  
  
"What about the second clue?"  
  
"He beheaded a lot of wives."  
  
"Henry VIII did that." Sara answered. "So that gives us Cape Henry."  
  
Nick began walking faster along the beach. He wanted to get back to the Tahoe and check the map. They finally got back and he opened the door and pulled out the map from the backseat. He and Sara checked along the Virginia coast. "Here it is, Cape Henry." Nick replied and showed Sara where it was.  
  
"That's about an hour or so away according to the map." Sara stated.  
  
"Then let's go." They got in the car and headed for their new location.  
  
Lindsey and Grissom were walking along the strip carrying some bags filled with various souvenirs. Catherine was way ahead of them checking out another store. Lindsey looked up at Grissom. "Are you having fun shopping with my mommy, Mr. Grissom?"  
  
"I don't really like shopping that well, but I love spending time with your mom."  
  
"She likes spending time with you too." Lindsey told him and smiled. "Can we get an ice-cream?"  
  
"Sure, how about we go home, drop these bags off and go get some."  
  
"Sounds good to me." She walked down a bit further. "Mr. Grissom."  
  
"Yes sweetie?"  
  
"I like spending time with you too."  
  
Grissom felt his heart melt. He gave Lindsey a big grin. "Well, I love hanging out with you."  
  
They finally found the store Catherine was in. She waved to them and they joined her. She was holding out an Outer Banks shirt. "What do you think? Does this look like something my sister would wear?"  
  
Lindsey studied it for a moment. "No, I don't think she would like it."  
  
Catherine placed the shirt back down. "Well, I don't know what else to get her. She doesn't need anything."  
  
"Get her a key chain." Lindsey suggested.   
  
"I guess I could, but that seems cheap."  
  
Grissom smiled. "Nothing's cheap here Catherine."  
  
"Isn't that the truth, I guess key chain it is." She walked toward the key chains and finally picked on out that she thought her sister would like. After paying for it, they headed back to the condo.  
  
"Guess what mommy?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Mr. Grissom is going to get us some ice-cream."  
  
"That sounds really good sweetie, but I'm pretty tired. Would you mind if I stayed home?"  
  
Lindsey glanced up at her mom. "Are you sick?"  
  
"No, I'm just tuckered out from shopping. But you and Grissom will have a great time."  
  
"Okay." They arrived back at the condo and put everything up. Catherine crashed down on the sofa and pulled her shoes off.   
  
"Boy, does that feel good." She sighed and leaned her head back. She closed her eyes and could feel herself become drowsy.   
  
"Bye mommy, we're going." Lindsey came over and gave her a quick hug.   
  
"Be careful and listen to Grissom."  
  
Grissom bent down and kissed her forehead. "We'll be fine. Get some rest." She barely heard the door close and dropped off to sleep.  
  
Warrick and Greg were at Harriett's Bluff. They had no clue where to go now that they were there, so they started looking around. After a while of searching and not finding anything, they began going in stores and checking there. They were in a clothing store, when a teenager approached them. "Are you the CSIs?" He asked them.  
  
"Yeah, we are." Warrick replied curiously. "How did you know?"  
  
"You're not dressed as tourists." He looked around and then said. "I have something for you. Follow me."  
  
Warrick didn't feel like they had much of a choice, so they followed the teenager. He stopped at the counter. "Wait right there." He disappeared in the back and came back in holding a white envelope. "I was told to give this to one of the Vegas CSIs." He handed the envelope to Warrick.   
  
Warrick held up his hands. "Just a minute." He went outside and put on some latex gloves. He wasn't sure if the killer had touched the envelope, but he was going to check for prints anyway. He came back in and then took the envelope. He carefully opened it and read the note out loud. "Congratulations on making it this far. This proves you are good at directions. Now let's test some more skills. You're clue is I wear purple and I would be a heartthrob to teenage boys if I was real."  
  
Warrick glanced at the teenager and Greg. "Okay, who is it?"  
  
Greg read the clue again over Warrick's shoulder. "If I didn't know any better, I would say Daphne from Scooby-Doo. I mean she wore purple and well I thought she was hot."  
  
"Daphne? Is there a place called Daphne?" Warrick asked.   
  
"If there is, it would have to be near water right? So that limits our search some."  
  
Warrick looked at the teenager. "Is there a library around here?"  
  
"Yeah, down the street."   
  
"Thanks." Warrick and Greg walked out and headed toward the library. They finally found it and walked inside. They found a computer and Greg sat down and typed in the word Daphne in the map search. A few minutes later, they had a location.  
  
"Daphne, Alabama." Warrick stated not quite believing it. He read the location, which indicated it was right near Mobile Bay.   
  
"Let me guess, we're going to Alabama?" Greg replied with no enthusiasm what so ever.  
  
"We don't have much of a choice Greg. We have to find this guy."  
  
"Don't you get what he's doing? He's luring us around to God knows where keeping us so busy, we'll never find him and we won't be able to stop him from killing his next victim."  
  
"So what are you suggesting? That we just stop and sit back and let him come to us? That's not going to happen."  
  
Greg held his hands up. "Look, I'm not trying to argue with you. It's just we've gone thousands of miles over a small period of time and we haven't found zip."  
  
"Let's check this envelope and see whose prints are on it. Maybe our killer isn't as perfect as he thinks he is."   
  
"Yeah, let's pray he has a dumb moment."   
  
Warrick laughed and the two left the library in search of a police department.  
  
Sara pulled their rental up to Cape Henry, which turned out to be a state park with a camping site. She got out and stretched her legs. Nick was soon beside her and they took a good look at their surroundings. "Well, it's not that crowded." She stated.  
  
"No, it's not. Let's look around anyway." They walked along the campsite and tried to get a better understanding of why they were sent there. Soon a man in his forties met them along the road.   
  
"Are you from the Las Vegas CSI department?" He asked.  
  
"Yes we are. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I was told to give you this." He started to hand them a yellow envelope. But Nick told him to hold it for a minute. He ran to the Tahoe and grabbed some gloves. He quickly snapped them on and came back. He took the envelope from the man and opened it. In black typed letters it read: This is the opposite of Long Beach."  
  
"Short Beach?" Sara commented staring at Nick.   
  
"We'll get on the computer and check." Nick thanked the man and he and Sara went back to the Tahoe. Sara grabbed the laptop and typed in Short Beach. She s soon discovered it was located in Connecticut.   
  
"I'm starting to hate this case." She replied.  
  
"It beats being stuck in the lab all day." Nick told her trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"That it does."   
  
She got behind the wheel and made the long drive toward Connecticut.  
  
Lindsey and Grissom were sitting inside a malt shop eating ice cream. Grissom took a bite of his chocolate nut sundae and glanced up at Lindsey. "So are you having a good time?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm having a blast." She took another bite of her banana split. "Expect when I thought you and mommy were missing."  
  
Grissom frowned. "I'm really sorry about that sweetie. I promise you I'll never let that happen again."  
  
She reached over and grabbed his hand. "I know. Besides you won't let anything bad happen to me or mommy."  
  
"You're right, I won't."  
  
Lindsey stared at him for a moment. "You really love her don't you?"  
  
He was amazed at how intuitive she was. "Yes, I really do."  
  
"Then why don't you marry her? She really loves you and you wouldn't be bad to have for a dad."  
  
He gave her a huge smile. "You're the best daughter in the world."  
  
"Does that mean you're going to marry my mommy and be my daddy?"  
  
"Would you like that?" He asked really wanting to know how she felt. He knew it was hard for children when their parents were divorced and Lindsey had lost her father not long ago.  
  
"I want my mommy to happy and you make her happy. Plus, I think of you as part of my family already. So I guess having you as a dad wouldn't be so bad."  
  
"All right, but you have to promise to keep this conversation a secret for a while. Deal?"  
  
"Deal." She replied and took another bite of ice cream.   
  
Warrick and Greg were in the police station checking the results from the envelope. It contained two separate prints, one was from the teenager and the other turned out to be from the manager of the store, who had moved the envelope out of the way.   
  
"Now there's a surprise." Greg stated with his voice dripping of sarcasm.  
  
"You want me to drive?" Warrick asked knowing that they had to go to Alabama.   
  
"For now, I'll switch with you later. I'm going to try and get some sleep." He knew they had a long drive ahead and wasn't looking forward to it. It was already seven o'clock that evening and the drive would take at least ten hours.   
  
They got in the car and headed toward a fast food restaurant. Both of them were hungry and they needed to get something that they could eat in the car. Warrick pulled into the drive thru at Sonic and ordered the brown bag special. They paid for it and drove off. Greg finished his and tossed the trash in the back seat. He glanced over at Warrick. "Do you mind if I turn the radio on?"  
  
"Nah, go ahead. I might help keep me awake."   
  
Greg reached over and began flipping the radio stations. He finally found one that he and Warrick could agree on. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes letting the music lure him to sleep.  
  
Warrick could hear Greg's steady breathing and knew his friend was sound asleep. He carefully switched stations as soon as a song came on he didn't like. He came across the song There There by Radiohead. He was trying to remember where he heard it before, then it occurred to him that Sara had the cd. She bought it as soon as it came out. He recalled that her favorite verse was "We are accidents waiting, waiting to happen." He sang quietly along with the song. He began to wonder how Nick and Sara were doing in their search.   
  
Sara glanced down at the car's clock and noticed that it was now eleven p.m. Nick had fallen asleep an hour ago. She had the car's radio on keeping her company. She was thrilled when she found a station that played some decent songs. She really wished she had her cds with her. 'I can only imagine what Greg must be going through.' She thought and smiled. She thought about their journey so far. How nothing they did seemed to bring them closer to the killer. 'He was right in front of me and I never knew.' She was so angry with herself. She was determined that he wouldn't get away with anything he's done. Unfortunately for them, the envelope had only one set of prints on them and they were of the man that gave it them. She smiled as soon as she heard the next song that was on the radio. It was a punchup at a wedding by Radiohead. She began to sing along with the lyrics. "I don't know why you bother. Nothing's ever good enough for you. I was there and it wasn't like that. You came here just to start a fight." She glanced over at Nick to make sure her singing didn't wake him up. He was sleeping soundly, so she focused back on the road and continued singing.  
  
The sun rose over the ocean causing the waves to shine brightly. Catherine was standing outside enjoying every minute of the scene before her. It made her wish that she didn't have to go back to Vegas where there was death and chaos all around her. She knew there was death everywhere, but right at that moment, the world to her was perfect. She heard the door open and soon felt arms wrap around her.  
  
"Good morning." Grissom whispered in her ear.  
  
"Good morning to you." She turned around to look at him. "Sleep well?"  
  
"Best night of sleep I've ever had." He replied making her smile. He kissed her for a brief moment and then turned to watch the sunrise. He wrapped his arm around Catherine and held her close. After the sun was well in the air, they went back inside. Catherine walked in the kitchen and began fixing some breakfast for them. Thirty minutes later Lindsey came in holding Chester.   
  
Catherine smiled at her daughter. "Morning sleepyhead."  
  
Lindsey just smiled back. "What's for breakfast?" She asked yawning.   
  
"I thought we would have some pancakes and I made you some hash browns."  
  
"Yummy. Can I have some juice?"  
  
"Sure." Catherine opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice. She grabbed a cup and poured some juice in it. "Here you go sweetie." She handed the cup to Lindsey, who grabbed it and gulped it down.   
  
"More please."  
  
"My goodness you're thirsty."   
  
"My throat's dry." Lindsey drank the second cup slower. She glanced around. "Where's Mr. Grissom?"  
  
"Taking a shower. He should be out any minute." Catherine set three plates down on the table and then placed the pancakes on another plate. She gathered everything they needed and set them on the table. "Breakfast is ready."  
  
"Aren't we gonna wait on him?"  
  
"We can." Catherine sat down on the chair and Lindsey sat across from her. She sat Chester down on the table.   
  
"What are we doing today?" Lindsey asked.  
  
"I thought we could drive around to the lighthouses. We haven't done that yet, and I think Grissom would like to."  
  
"Okay. Can we go also go play miniature golf?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Sweet!" Lindsey grabbed a hold of Chester and gave him a hug. "Can we rent a movie tonight?"  
  
"I guess, which one?"  
  
"Jurassic Park. I want Mr. Grissom to watch because he needs to know what a Jurassic Park storm is."  
  
Catherine shook her head. 'She got that from Kasey.' She thought to herself remembering Lindsey learning that from their last trip to N.C. Now every time it storms in Vegas, her daughter will tell her it's a Jurassic Park storm.   
  
"It's okay with me but you have to ask Grissom."  
  
As on cue, Grissom walked in. "Ask me what?"  
  
Lindsey answered him. "Can we rent Jurassic Park tonight?"  
  
He smiled. "I think that's a great idea. Besides I heard it's supposed to be raining anyway."  
  
Lindsey laughed. "Cool, that will make it seem real."   
  
Grissom sat down beside her and the three ate their breakfast.  
  
Warrick and Greg finally arrived at Daphne, Alabama. After hours of driving, both men were completely exhausted. They found a parking area close to the Mobile Bay. They slowly got out of the car and scanned the area. It wasn't really crowded and the people that were out were mostly families.   
  
Greg glanced at the people and watched as they went about their daily lives with not a care in the world. None of them had a clue about the psycho killer on the loose. 'Lucky them.' He thought to himself and turned to face Warrick. "Now what?"  
  
"I'm thinking breakfast." Warrick stated and his stomach growled loudly in agreement.   
  
"Sounds good."   
  
They began walking along looking for somewhere to eat. They found a small diner and walked inside. There were only a few customers, so they were seated quickly. After ordering their meals, Warrick stared out the window and watched as the people passed by. "Our guy won't be here. There are not enough people around."  
  
"Then why send us here?" Greg asked and took a drink of his soda.  
  
"To keep us occupied while he finds his next victim."   
  
"Great. I say we call the FBI and let them take over."   
  
"I'm about ready to agree with you, but I can't make that call. Brass will have to."   
  
"Then call him." Greg was tired of driving from state to state ending up with nothing.   
  
"And tell him what? That our murderer keeps playing around with us, making us chase him through the entire east coast."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Greg replied even though he knew that Warrick's previous remark had been spoken with pure sarcasm.   
  
Warrick gave him a small smile. "You know we're supposed to be one of the best labs in the country and we can't even nail this guy. How do you think the feds would handle it?"  
  
Greg thought about it for a moment. "You have a point. Which is why I'm starting to agree about this guy being a CSI. What if he's from one of the best crime labs? I'm telling you, I think we need to be focusing on them."  
  
"Sara was doing that. I wonder if she's gotten anywhere." Warrick pondered and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed her number and waited.  
  
"Sidle."  
  
"Hey Sara, it's Warrick."  
  
"Hey War. Where are you at?"  
  
"Daphne, Alabama. Where are you?"  
  
"Short Beach, Connecticut." He could the exhaustion in her voice.   
  
"I have a question. Have you finished the search on the possible CSI suspects?"  
  
"Um, no, I've been driving for the past ten hours. I will though, have you found anything?"  
  
"Greg had an idea that our guy is from a top crime lab."  
  
He could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. "That makes sense. I'll get right on that and I'll call you back okay."  
  
"That's fine. Thanks Sara."  
  
"Yeah, no problem. Bye Warrick."  
  
"Bye Sara." Warrick hung up the phone and smiled as the waitress brought their food to them. He and Greg ate in silence and paid for their meal. They left the diner and walked down the strip. After searching the area for an hour, they didn't find anything. They found a visitor's center and walked inside and headed for the restroom. Greg finished first and walked back in the lobby of the center. There was a map in the middle of the room. He glanced at it and noticed the big red dot with the words you are here in black letters. He also noticed something else. There was an arrow pointing toward a spot on the map. Warrick walked up to him. "What are you doing?"  
  
Greg pointed to the arrow. "Does this look hand drawn to you?"  
  
Warrick took a closer look. "Yeah it does." The arrow was pointing to a spot along the bay. "You realize no one else would have noticed the arrow?"  
  
"I have a hunch we need to go there." He and Warrick left the visitor's center and made their way to the new location. They found a pier and under it sat a plain box. Warrick bent down and pulled out a pair of gloves. He snapped them on and opened the box. Inside was a strand of hair.   
  
Greg glanced from the hair to Warrick. "What do you think this means?"  
  
"I don't know, but we need to get to a lab." Warrick picked up the box and he and Greg made their way back toward the car.  
  
Sara and Nick were walking along the beach; neither knew what they were looking for. Sara stopped near a pier. "You know this is getting us no where."  
  
"I know, but what else can we do?"  
  
"I'm going to look on the net and see if I can narrow down the list of potential CSIs." She didn't even wait for Nick's response. Instead she began heading back toward the Tahoe. Nick followed her back and watched as she unlocked the door and pulled the laptop out from under the seat. She closed the door and they headed for a spot to sit down at. Nick decided they needed to get something to eat, so they found a restaurant. Once they were seated, Sara turned the computer on and continued her search. She didn't even acknowledge that their waitress was there.  
  
"Sara, honey, what do you want?" Nick asked her.   
  
Without looking up from the scene she answered. "An egg salad sandwich."  
  
Nick shook his head and placed their orders. The waitress smiled and walked away. Nick took a sip of his tea and watched his girlfriend. He was about to say something to her when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out and answered. "Stokes."  
  
"Hey Nick, it's Warrick."  
  
"Hey man, what's going on?"  
  
"We just a got a break. Greg and I found a hair inside a box. We ran it through DNA and it turns out it's from a female."  
  
Nick let this process before he commenting. "Well, the hair could be from a previous victim."  
  
"It's not. All of the victims had either blonde or brown hair. This strand's from a red head."  
  
"Gotta love those red heads." Nick said smiling. "So, our murderer left you a hair. What do you think this means?"  
  
"Greg and I were talking and we think it's from his next victim. She must know him well enough to get that close to her."  
  
Sara was halfway listening to Nick's conversation until she got an e-mail. She noticed it was from the same address as before. She glanced down and noticed it also had an attachment. She opened the mail and a message popped up. It read: She pretends to be someone she's not, living the life of a star. But every star's light dies and so will she. Can you find her before it's too late? Sara downloaded the image and a woman's picture appeared on the screen. She glanced up at Nick, who was still talking to Warrick.  
  
"Nick."   
  
He looked at her and noticed the look on her face. "What is it?"  
  
"What was Warrick telling you?"  
  
"He said the murderer left a box with a red headed female's strand of hair. Why?"  
  
She turned the screen to face him. "I think we've found our female."  
  
Nick took a look at the woman before him. She had long red hair and bright blue eyes. She was in her late twenties or early thirties. He quickly informed Warrick about the e-mail and read him the message. He heard Warrick tell Greg and then heard Greg comment that he had no clue where the girl would be.  
  
"Red headed star being someone she's not?" Warrick said again trying to digest that information. "Man, I have no clue. That could be anybody."  
  
"Yeah, that's problem." Nick stated. "We don't have anything to give us her name. All we have is a photograph and a strand of her DNA. That's not helping us any."  
  
Sara was getting frustrated. 'I hate this.' She thought and glanced out the window. She began watching as a woman and a little girl came walking along the sidewalk. She was about to turn away when something about the little girl stopped her. She took a closer look and soon her eyes fell on the girl's t-shirt. I had the Disney's Princesses on it and one of them was Ariel. "Nick, I think I know where he's going."  
  
Nick looked at her and then checked to see what had her attention. He spotted the little girl and then the shirt. "Ariel?"  
  
"What?" Warrick asked over the phone. "Did you just call me Ariel?"  
  
"Huh, oh no War. There's a little girl outside with Ariel on her shirt."  
  
"Wait a minute, Ariel as in Princess Ariel?"  
  
Warrick and Sara were both thinking along the same lines and Nick agreed. "He's going to Disney World in Florida." Nick realized.   
  
"We'll meet you there." Warrick said and hung up the phone. Nick placed his phone back and their waitress brought them their food. "I'm sorry, something came up, and can we have this to go?" Nick asked her.  
  
"Sure, I'll go get some boxes." She disappeared and came back in a few minutes with boxes and their check. Nick paid for the meal, while Sara put their food up. They got up and Nick took the keys out of her pocket. "I'm driving."  
  
She smiled. "I'm not going to argue."  
  
"Good, because you'll lose."   
  
Sara just shook her and head and got in the Tahoe. She knew they had an incredibly long drive ahead of them and that Warrick and Greg would have to start searching without them. She just prayed that they wouldn't be too late.  
  
Late that night, Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey were snuggled together on the couch watching Jurassic Park. They could hear the rain pouring down outside. It was also raining in the movie. They were at the part where the T-Rex was breaking out of his paddock. Lindsey leaned closer to Grissom, but didn't take her eyes off the screen. On the television the T-Rex was now free standing in between both vehicles. A flashlight was turned on in one of the cars. "Turn the light off. Turn the light off." Dr. Grant said in the movie. Lindsey started repeating him when the T-Rex turned toward the car.  
  
"Turn the light off." Lindsey yelled. "Hurry."  
  
Grissom wrapped his arms around her and pulled her near him. He heard Lindsey gasp when the rex was looking in on Lex. She released her breath as soon as Dr. Grant threw the flare. She noticed that Grissom still had his arm around her and she smiled. She reached over and grabbed her mother's hand. They stayed that way until the movie ended.   
  
Once it was over, Lindsey turned to Grissom. "Do you think the bugs in your office has dino DNA in them?"  
  
"I doubt it sweetie, they're not that old."  
  
"Oh, well, do you think that someone will find dino DNA and clone it?"  
  
"I have no clue. Would you want them to?" Grissom asked.  
  
"I don't want them cloning the rex or the raptors, but they could the others." Just then thunder boomed and shook the condo.   
  
"It's a Jurassic Park storm." Lindsey replied and glanced at her mom. Catherine just grinned at her. Lindsey turned around and noticed that Grissom had an odd look on his face.   
  
Without warning he began to roar trying to sound like the rex. Lindsey screamed with delight. She jumped up and ran in the kitchen. "Help, t-rex is after me!"   
  
Grissom got up and chased her around until she became very still. She remembered that a rex couldn't see you unless you moved. Grissom continued to play with her and walked by her. He pretended like he was sniffing around for her scent. He got to close to her causing her to giggle. He grabbed her and picked her up. "Gotcha ya!"  
  
She was laughing so hard. "Put me down." She tried to protest.   
  
"Nope, I'm going to take you and feed you to the other dinosaurs." He carried in the living room and sat her down next to Catherine, who immediately began tickling her. Lindsey just squealed with happiness. She didn't want the night to end. She wished it would storm more often.  
  
Warrick and Greg finally arrived near Disney World. They decided to go in and see if the woman they were looking for was there. They negotiated their case and were able to get inside for free. They walked around the theme park in search of the woman. They found "Ariel" at one of the castles, but after a closer observation, they learned she wasn't the woman they were searching for. They walked around for another hour and found nothing.   
  
Greg finally made Warrick stop so he could get a cold drink. "She's not here. I think we messed up with the clue."  
  
"Where else would she be? Think about the clue." Warrick stated.   
  
"What if, and this is a big what if, she doesn't work here, but somehow he managed to know that she was coming?"  
  
"That won't work. The clue specially says she pretends to be someone she's not, living the life of a star."  
  
Before he could come up with a protest he noticed a woman walking down the breezeway. "That's her." Greg practically yelled and pointed in the direction of the woman.  
  
"Then let's go talk to her." Warrick replied and they went after her. Once they finally caught up to her, Warrick called out. "Excuse me ma'am."  
  
She turned around and smiled at them. "Can I help you?"  
  
"No, but I believe we might be able to help you. May we ask you a few questions?"  
  
"Sure, I'm on break right now. What do you need?"  
  
Warrick made the introductions and showed her his I.D. She looked at both men carefully and then focused on Warrick. "Have I done something wrong?"  
  
"No, it's nothing like that." Warrick tried to reassure her. "May I ask what your name is?"  
  
"Lydia Ryder."  
  
"Lydia, what do you do here?"  
  
She smiled. "I'm whatever princess I need to be at the time. Also when I'm not in costume, I work some concessions."  
  
"How long have you worked here?"  
  
"About four years. I love it here." She ran her hand through her red hair. "I have to ask, what's the Las Vegas crime lab doing in Florida?"  
  
"I guess you wouldn't believe that we wanted to go to Disney World?" Greg simply said.  
  
"I've seen weirder things." She replied giving him a smile.   
  
"Lydia." Warrick began. "Do you have a boyfriend?"  
  
"Not right now. I dated this guy a while back but nothing serious."  
  
He was about to ask another question when his cell rang. "Excuse me." He said and turned around to answer the phone. "Brown."  
  
"Warrick, it's Sara." She sounded urgent.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"We know who our guy is."  
  
"Really." Warrick was thrilled.  
  
"I finished my search on CSIs when I came across the guy I saw on the beach. He's our murderer."  
  
Warrick was patiently waiting for the name but she hadn't told him yet. "Sara, what's his name?" He finally asked realizing that was the main purpose of her call.  
  
"Oh, it's Eugene Leach. He was top notch at his lab, but then he mysteriously disappeared. Guess we know what's he's been doing."  
  
"Thanks Sara. What are you doing now?"   
  
Nick is talking to Brass, telling him everything we know so far. I was thinking though, I don't think Leach will show up in Disney World."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's not in his profile. I mean it's not located near a beach and I think he planted the hair and photo to keep us occupied until he makes another kill."  
  
"Okay, that sounds plausible but we don't know that for sure."  
  
"Look, I know you're in charge but Nick and I discussed it. We're in Virginia and we think we should stay here. He's killed in both Carolinas and this would be his next stop. He's expecting us all to be in Florida so he's going to get cocky and show himself around the beach."  
  
"All right, here's the plan and Sara you promise me you'll stick to it."  
  
"Tell me."   
  
He shook his head noting the fact that she couldn't see him. "Not until you promise me."  
  
"Fine, I promise." He quickly gave her instructions on what she and Nick needed to do. After a few more minutes of talking to her and then Nick, Warrick hung up the phone.   
  
He glanced back at Lydia. "I'm sorry but you need to come with us."  
  
"I thought you said I wasn't in trouble."  
  
"You're not but your life may be in danger." He grabbed her by the elbow and led her out of the park. They had to wait to clear everything up with her boss and then they walked toward the car.   
  
"Lydia, do you Eugene Leach?"  
  
She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Why?"  
  
"We believe that he might be searching for you. He sent us a picture and a strand of your hair." Greg replied finally joining the conversation.   
  
"I'm confused." She stated and stood by their car. "Why would he be after me and how did he get a hold of my hair?"  
  
"That's what we're going to find out as soon as we can get to a police station." Warrick answered.  
  
"Also, we're going to need a strand of your hair to compare it the sample we already have." Greg informed her.  
  
"Okay." She responded really not knowing what was going on. The ride to the police station was quiet. As soon as Warrick found a parking space, the three made their way inside. Warrick quickly informed the police of who they were and why they were there. The officers led them to the lab and let Greg work at one of the stations. He quickly compared the DNA of the strand of hair in the box, to that of Lydia's. It was a perfect match.   
  
"So this conforms that he's been around you." Warrick told her and they walked out of the lab and went into a computer lab. Warrick sat down at one of the tables and logged on the computer. He typed up Eugene's name and waited for the picture to download. As soon as his picture was up, Warrick turned to Lydia. "Do you recognize the man on the screen?"  
  
"Oh my gosh. That's Matthew."  
  
Warrick glanced at her. "When was the last time you saw him?"  
  
"I'm not sure. About a week ago."  
  
Greg looked at Warrick and then to Lydia. "How do you know him?"  
  
Lydia gave him a nervous smile. "I, um, I met him at a bar. We got to talking and then we ended back at my place."  
  
Warrick nodded. "Okay."  
  
"Listen, I'm usually not like that, but he seemed so nice and sincere and well, it's been a while since I had been with someone."  
  
Greg wondered what she would think of him if she found out what he was really like.  
  
"Did he do something wrong?" She asked.  
  
Warrick shot a look to Greg demanding that he keep his mouth shut. In Warrick's mind there was no reason to inform her about Eugene's killing spree. "We just need to find him." Warrick told her.  
  
Realization hit her. "Wait a minute. Is Matthew the person you're protecting me from?"  
  
"First off, his name isn't Matthew it's Eugene and second we're not sure." Greg answered.  
  
She looked as if she was going to comment further but then remained quiet. For that both Warrick and Greg were thankful.   
  
"Lydia, we need you to stay here at the station over night."  
  
"Are you going to stay here with me?"  
  
"No, we have somewhere else we need to be. I'm going to give the officers outside Eugene's picture and strict instructions that if he comes, he is to be held and to kept far away from you."  
  
"But, I have work tomorrow."  
  
"Trust me, you'll want to stay here." Greg told her and then walked out of the room with Warrick. After giving the officers all the information, Warrick and Greg headed toward the car and made their way to Virigina.  
  
Sara and Nick arrived at Virginia Beach trying to keep a low profile. They didn't want Leach to spot them out. Sara pulled her hair up and wore a hat. She had on shorts and a swimsuit top on. Nick also had on a hat and wore a sleeveless t-shirt and swim trunks. They were hoping that with the change of clothes, Leach wouldn't notice them right away. Underneath their clothes, they each had a microphone and for headphones they had a hearing aid looking device in their ear. They arrived at a pier and canvassed the area. Nick turned to face Sara. "Are you ready?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be." She answered him.  
  
He leaned down and kissed her. She brought her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Nick wrapped his arms around her waist. Soon breathing became a necessity for them both. Sara pulled away and gave him a smile. "Be careful."  
  
"You too. Don't forget, no heroics."  
  
"I remember. Besides I would be breaking two promises if I didn't."  
  
He smiled and silently thanked Warrick for his part in that. "Remember keep a low profile and don't draw attention to yourself."  
  
"I know the drill." She replied.   
  
"Okay, just double checking." He kissed her once more and pulled away. "Love you."  
  
"Love you too. I'll see you soon." She walked away first and went to the right. Nick waited a few minutes and walked off the pier and turned to the left.   
  
It was around nine o'clock that evening in Virginia. A woman with dark blonde hair strolled along the beach. Her two-piece bikini showed off her well-defined abs and toned legs. She definitely turned a lot of men's heads, which was exactly what she wanted to do. She didn't just want any man though, she wanted the right one and she determined to find him. Soon a man approached her. He was at least six three with a short-cropped brown hair. "Hey sexy." He greeted.  
  
"Hey baby. How are you tonight?" She said smiling.  
  
"Better now that I found you." He gave her a grin. "So what's a beautiful woman like you doing walking along the beach without a man in your arms?"  
  
She blushed. "I guess I just haven't found that guy yet." She stared into his eyes. "Do you think you're him?" She asked seductively.   
  
"I could be." He responded and held his arm to her. She gladly accepted and hooked her arm through his.   
  
"So, what's your name? Mine is Jana."  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you Jana, I'm Ryan."  
  
She grinned. "The pleasure is all mine Ryan. So where are you from?"  
  
"I'm from many places. I love to travel. My original home is in Arizona."  
  
"Wow, you've come a long way. I'm from Kentucky, but I moved here a few years ago."   
  
They continued walking down the beach. Jana held his arm and then caressed his hand with her other. "You know, I just love the ocean." She told him.  
  
"Me too. I could live here forever."   
  
"So, what do you do for a living?"   
  
"I used to work for the police, but I got tired of it. I decided that I like to travel, so I collected up most of my money and decided to see the world."  
  
Jana smiled at him. "That's fascinating. I would love to be able to travel like that, but my job has me trapped."  
  
"Well, that's a shame. A beautiful woman like yourself should be free to do whatever she feels like it."  
  
Jana nodded. "True, but sadly my boss doesn't see it that way. But let's not talk about work, what brings you here?"  
  
"I'm working on a secret project." He answered her. "Would you like in on it?"  
  
"What would I have to do?" She asked making sure she sounded seductive enough.  
  
He leaned over and began kissing her along the neck and moved his way to her lips. Jana wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. He was becoming very aroused by her and soon he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled back and stared into her eyes. "I need you to do something for me." He told her trying to catch his breath."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I need you to die."  
  
Jana looked deep into his eyes, not sure if she had heard him correctly. "You want me to die?"  
  
"Yes." He simply stated and then before she knew it, he backhanded her across the face. Jana felt the blow and fell to the ground. She glanced back up at him and wiped off the blood that was now trickling down her nose. She had to make sure he kept his focus on her. He began to reach down for her but flashes of light illuminated the beach.  
  
"Put your hands on your head and slowly turn around." A loud voice demanded.  
  
Eugene glanced around and realized that he was surrounded by cops. He did as he was told and slowly turned around. A tall officer came over and handcuffed him and read him his rights. Jana got up from the ground and began taking the microphone out of her shirt. "Thanks Richard." She said.   
  
Nick and Sara made their way to Eugene. Sara gave him a cold stare. "Looks like my computer skills came in handy after all." She told him.  
  
"Bitch!" He yelled at her and tried to get to her, but his hands were cuffed and an officer was holding him.  
  
Nick wanted to go slap him for that remark, but realized it might give Eugene an edge on the case. So he refrained but stared him down. "Just wait till the justice department gets a hold of you and we'll see who the bitch really is."  
  
Eugene spit in his face and then was led away by the officer. Jana smiled at Nick and Sara. "Thanks for your help guys. We couldn't have done it with out you."  
  
"No problem. We're just glad it's over." Nick informed her. Jana waved good-bye and walked off heading in the direction of the other officers. Nick reached over and grabbed his fiancée's hand. "I guess we better go find Warrick and Greg."  
  
"Yeah, and then we can finally go home tomorrow." She replied. They went off in search of Warrick and Greg and found them coming down the bank.   
  
"Are we too late?" Warrick asked.  
  
"Yeah, he's in custody." Nick answered.  
  
"Good, that means we can go home." Greg said and yawned.   
  
"Guys, we have to turn our rentals in South Carolina." Warrick reminded them.  
  
"Grrrr. I forgot about that." Sara stated as they headed back toward the vehicles. "I guess we've got one last drive and then a plane ride tomorrow."  
  
"Then home and more cases." Nick commented. They reached the vehicles and soon all four were off toward South Carolina.  
  
Early the next morning, Catherine woke up to a wonderful smell. The smell of breakfast in which she didn't have to cook. She got up out of bed and walked toward the kitchen. The scene before her brought a smile to her face. Grissom and Lindsey, who was covered in flour, were setting the table and placing the food on it. Lindsey glanced up and smiled. "Morning mommy."  
  
"Good morning sweetie." She took a quick peek at the food. "That looks delicious."  
  
"Mr. Grissom and I made it."   
  
"Thank you." She walked over and hugged her daughter and then turned to Grissom. "And thank you." She kissed him briefly and pulled away before Lindsey could make some kind of comment.  
  
"What's the occasion?" She asked.  
  
"No occasion. We just wanted to do something special for you." Grissom told her.  
  
Lindsey pointed to a chair. "Sit down mommy."   
  
Catherine sat down and they piled her plate with food. Lindsey and Grissom then took their seats and they enjoyed their breakfast together.   
  
After breakfast was done, Grissom and Lindsey cleaned the kitchen and washed the dishes. Catherine leaned back in the chair and just watched. "You know, I could get used to this." She told them.  
  
Grissom and Lindsey smiled at each other and he gave her a quick wink. He then focused on Catherine. "Go get dressed, we've got a very busy day planned."  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"Yes and if you don't hurry, we're going to be late." He told her and practically had to push her toward the bedroom to start getting ready.   
  
Catherine grabbed some clothes and then took a shower. She dressed and brushed her teeth. Once she was done fixing her hair, she put everything up and came back in the living room. Grissom and Lindsey were standing by the door. "Bout time. We're going to be late." Lindsey told her.  
  
"I don't get, what's the hurry?"  
  
Grissom grabbed her hand. "You'll see, come on." They walked outside and began their new day.  
  
Warrick, Greg, Nick, and Sara were on the plane heading toward Vegas. They were so exhausted that all four of them were fast asleep. None of them woke up until they heard the captain announcing their arrival in Vegas. "Never thought I would be so happy to be in Sin City." Nick replied.  
  
They gathered their luggage and made their way outside. Jasmine was there to greet Warrick. She ran over and wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you so much." She said.  
  
"I missed you too baby." He pulled her into a quick kiss and then held her hand. The five left the airport and each headed towards their home.  
  
Late that evening, Catherine was exhausted. Grissom had surprised her and took her on a boat trip, and then they went to visit more lighthouses, and had lunch out. It was now seven in the evening and sadly Catherine knew that this was their last day in the Outer Banks. Tomorrow they were going to Carowinds and then the day after that, they were going home. They were driving around the beach, when Grissom decided to pull over. "Gil, what are you doing?" She asked.  
  
"I want to show you something." He got out of the car and waited for her and Lindsey to get out. He walked them toward a pier. Once they were on it, Catherine realized why he wanted to stop. The view was incredible from there. She watched the waves and actually saw a dolphin.   
  
"This is breathtaking." She said.   
  
"Catherine." Grissom began. "I know I'm not good with words or feelings, things like that."   
  
She turned to face him. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Just listen." He stated. "I've been doing a lot of thinking during this week and I'm glad we came. I feel like we have a tight family."  
  
"We do Gil."  
  
"I know, but I want to make it tighter and more real." He pulled out a black velvet box and opened it. Catherine gazed down upon the shiny diamond engagement ring. She could feel tears in her eyes.  
  
Grissom got down on one knee. "Catherine Willows, will you marry me?"  
  
She was speechless and could only nod her head. Grissom placed the ring on her finger and gave her a hug. He pulled back and kissed her passionately. Lindsey came running up to them and hugged them both. Grissom pulled away and picked her up. "I love you both." He replied.  
  
"We love you too." They said and once again had a group hug.   
  
Two days later, the airplane carrying Grissom, Catherine, and Lindsey landed in Vegas. They stepped off the plane and were greeted by their friends. After all the hellos were said, Grissom looked at his team. "I have an announcement to make."  
  
They waited patiently for him to continue. "Catherine and I are engaged."  
  
"Congratulations." Were passed among them and more hugs went around.   
  
Grissom asked about the case and Warrick filled him in.   
  
"You guys did a good job." Grissom informed them while they walked toward the cars.   
  
"We know." Warrick replied.  
  
Greg was lurking around Lindsey. "So, what did you get me as a souvenir?"   
  
She laughed. "I got Kasey' picture." She answered with a wink. "But you're not getting it."   
  
"Wait, that's not fair." Greg pouted.  
  
"Yes it is. We had to say good-bye to them last night, so we got a group picture done and then I got one of each of them."  
  
"Cool, so what did you get me?"  
  
"A key chain."   
  
They all laughed and walked off, leaving Greg to stand there amazed. He finally just shook his head and then realized they were leaving him. "Hey, wait for me!"  
  
~Finished~ 


End file.
